Memories And Flowers
by brown phantom
Summary: Rewrite of older story. Ranma ends up forgetting Akane and believes he's engaged to Kasumi instead. Not only that, but he seems to take this engagement more seriously.
1. Chapter 1

**Memories and Flowers**

_This was inspired by a oneshot of the same name written long ago by HimuraAlucard. While it is a good one, I found many things about it I disliked. Mainly the short length and the lack of several vital scenes for such a plotline. Overall it felt rushed and greatly summarized to me. With HimuraAlucard's permission I have for several months been working on this rewrite, which should provide a more complete story. There won't be much action, so sorry to all the fans that enjoy reading martial arts fights. _

_I want to make one thing clear to everyone: I am NOT changing the original storyline of HimuraAlucard's fic. I am simply expanding upon it. So don't expect many good things to happen to Akane, because they didn't in the original. If you can't handle Akane being portrayed negatively, then you might want to go read something else._

Chapter One

One clear warm afternoon in Nerima, Japan there was a young man flying across the sky. In any other city in the world, with the possible exceptions of places like Metropolis or Juuban, this would be the sort of thing that would make the citizens think either someone was playing an elaborate trick on them, or they were on some sort of drug. However, in Nerima, this had become something of a normal occasion over the past year. To the inhabitants a young man soaring through the sky was nowadays no different than a bird doing the same. In fact, the lack of such a thing might get them worried instead.

This particular young man happened to be Ranma Saotome, and he wasn't up there under his own power. As great as he was at making the impossible happen, Ranma simply couldn't fly as if he had sprouted wings like he was a member of the Phoenix tribe. Instead, he was up there solely because of his first of three fiancées, Akane Tendo, giving him one of her standard uppercuts just moments ago because she got mad at him. Again.

_'What the heck did I do THIS time?'_ Ranma thought as he tried to remember anything that might have triggered his uncute fiancée's temper.

He was already in a bad mood today because Akane chose to wake him up with a bucket of cold water, mostly to humiliate him rather than wake him. He knew that for a fact because if she didn't enjoy it, why did she do it so often? With a smirk? And if that wasn't bad enough of a wake-up call, it also woke up the panda and that allowed him to catch Ranma off guard for the morning spar that day. Genma knew his son was no longer in his class so he took any chance he could to have the upper hand in a fight. Then he would try to take more of Ranma's breakfast despite Nodoka's warning not to.

Then when the teens were off to school, Ranma, as a boy again thanks to Kasumi giving him hot water beforehand, was ambushed by Shampoo with her patented Amazonian glomp and Akane accused him of encouraging and enjoying it before hitting him, and Shampoo by default, into the canal. Naturally Shampoo became a cat and Ranma, a girl again, ran in a blind screaming panic, unfortunately in the direction away from Furinkan High. Happosai, on his current stealing binge, chose to make himself known and latched onto Ranma's chest like a remora. When Ranma finally lost Shampoo and Happosai, with much difficulty, got some hot water from Dr. Tofu's, and actually got to school he was already running late, but Kuno just absolutely had to be there to challenge him yet again, never minding the fact that it made him late as well. Apparently since his father was the principal and didn't like Ranma at all Kuno often if not always got away with this behavior, even though the teachers did make sure it affected his grades. Ranma was in no mood even to toy with the delusional idiot so he simply knocked him out cold with one quick move and dashed inside.

The combined result of all this added on stuff was that he was twenty minutes late for class. Ms. Hinako made him stand outside holding water-filled buckets as punishment since he wisely emitted little ki for her to drain just then. Ranma didn't fail to notice Akane's smirk at seeing this, as if he somehow deserved it. It was the same smirk she gave him after she malleted him.

The rest of the morning had been smoother, with nothing worse than Akane and Ukyo barking at each other near the end. Ranma found it odd that even though Akane had no intention of being near him during lunch, the tomboy was adamantly against Ukyo sitting close enough to put her arms around his shoulders. "Ranma! How dare you flirt with this tramp!" She screamed at him when the okonomiyaki chef succeeded in getting her arm where she wanted it.

"He's my fiancée you know! I have a right to be with him!" Ukyo shouted back, glaring but not moving from her acquired position. If she lost it there was little if any guarantee she would regain it anytime soon.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Akane shouted to the chef before returning her glare towards Ranma. It looked a lot like Soun's Demon Head technique but was missing the size part. However Ranma had seen it from her enough times that by now it lost the edge Akane wanted it to have. Also, after facing people like Saffron, Herb, and even Happosai and Cologne, little actually scared him anymore besides cats.

"Look Akane you weren't anywhere near me, so unless you were going to ya have no right to complain that Ukyo beatcha to it. Okay?" Ranma should have expected what was coming to him but his mind was to preoccupied with trying to find a way to sneak away when Akane hit him and sent him to the other side of town. For some unexplained reason, Ukyo wasn't hit or even grazed in the attack. And after Ranma was gone, Akane couldn't care less what Ukyo was doing so she left the other girl alone then.

Which brings us back to the present, where Ranma was currently up there flying past the roofs, hoping that for once he didn't land in water. It looked like this time he would get his wish, as he was above the shopping district Kasumi always went to. After a while he felt the first pull of gravity which meant that he was about to land, so he closed his eyes to brace for the landing. The next thing he knew was the sound of a loud sharp 'clang' along with the familiar pain of a blunt impact, and then he saw nothing but black.

"Oh my. Ranma, are you okay?"

Ranma slowly opened his eyes, moaning as his head felt like he had a vicegrip on his temples. He slowly focused on a figure that was looking down at him. At first all he saw was the silhouette, but it shortly came into focus as Kasumi. For once she wasn't smiling like she normally does, but rather looked worried with concern.

"Are you alright Ranma?" She asked again. She was kneeling down to see any possible injuries and help him back up.

"Yeah Kasumi. I'm fine... I think. I might need a ton of aspirin though ta get rid of this freakin' headache I have now." Ranma told her as he sat up and rubbed his sore head.

"I'm glad you're alright, but we better leave here before any people that work for the city come for you."

Ranma didn't catch her drift, but when he looked up he saw that he had managed put a 30 degree dent on a newly installed metal post with his head. "Yeah... sounds good."

"Ranma, did Akane hit you again?" Kasumi asked as they started walking back to the dojo. She was positive she already knew the answer, but wanted to give her sister the benefit of the doubt.

"Akane... who?" The pigtailed gender bender answered blankly. By the look of shock on Kasumi's face, Ranma could tell he had just said something wrong so he tried his best to remember who this Akane person was. But after a few minutes of hard thought, he still drew a blank. "Am I supposeda know someone named Akane?"

"Ranma, are you okay?" Kasumi asked with more than a hint of surprise. "Akane's your fiancée."

"Akane's my fiancée? That can't be right, Kasumi. _You're _my fiancée." He smiled innocently and sweetly at Kasumi and took one of the bags of groceries from her hand before starting to walk back to the dojo. Kasumi just stood there for a moment trying to comprehend this before snapping out of her daze and catching up to him.

Ranma had gotten back to the dojo first, only because Kasumi shyly stayed a few steps behind him. He went into the kitchen and placed the bag filled with ingredients for tonight's dinner on the counter. Kasumi walked in after him, her mind still in shock from what he had just told her. "Kasumi? Are ya feeling alright?" Ranma asked as he placed his hand on her forehead.

"Ummmm... yes I'm fine." She managed to say with a weak smile. She then gently removed Ranma's hand from her head.

"Ok, so let's get ready to make dinner. Sound good?" Ranma suggested while he was putting on the spare apron that hung by the kitchen door. For some reason he was acting like he and her doing this was completely normal. Kasumi was at first a little hesitant to let him help her, but then when she saw how well he handled the cutting of the vegetables and the cleaning of the fish, she decided to enjoy having the extra help for once. At least with Ranma helping instead of Akane, it would turn out edible.

The aroma of dinner was in the air as Ranma heard heavy footsteps approach, which he knew belonged to his father. "Always the first to enter the dining room." Ranma sighed before they put the finishing touches on dinner. Genma plopped down at the table and was soon followed by his wife Nodoka and the rest of the Tendo family along with Happosai. Ranma helped Kasumi bring out dinner and then slowly sat down beside her, making her blush and the others watch in confusion. Ranma suddenly felt the burn of an angry stare being directed at him from behind while he happily accepted a bowl of rice from Kasumi.

"RANMA! You... What do you think you're doing with my sister?" Akane screamed, glaring at him as if he was committing the biggest sin imaginable.

Ranma just looked blankly at her, completely unintimidated, then turned to look at Kasumi. "We're having a guest tonight dear?"

"Guest? DEAR? I'm a guest? RANMA YOU PERVERTED JERK!" It was hard to say just what Akane was more upset about: Ranma treating her like nobody, or him being nicer than usual to Kasumi. In the end it didn't matter, because Akane generally had only one way to reply when Ranma upset her.

Ranma saw the aforementioned 'guest' stomp up to him, about to crush his skull with a mallet she pulled out of seemingly nowhere. She never got the chance to, since Ranma quickly used a single finger to break the weapon's head. The mallet cracked right through the center and fell to pieces like a puzzle, leaving the now very angry looking 'guest' holding up what was left of the handle.

Ranma retracted his hand back to holding his bowl. "Who do you think you are ta try and strike me at my own dinner table?" He commented.

Akane was ticked off to a new level. Any angrier and her head might soon vent radioactive steam through her ears to avoid a meltdown. Despite all her claims of being a martial artist, Akane was not used to anyone who actually fought back. The Hentai Horde didn't count since they never actually tried to hurt her, and Kuno because he often tried to lose on purpose to 'win' a date out of her. Also, Akane held onto the notion that as a girl, it was a bad idea for anyone, especially men, to actually attack her, period. Thus her basic mentality regarding martial arts was best summarized as 'Stand still and let me hit you.' Someone who actually fought back was not what she had in mind, especially if that someone was Ranma Saotome.

Running on pure rage and reflex, Akane shrieked like some sort of berserker ready to hit Ranma like never before. If by chance she had succeeded, later on she would have regretted it, but at that moment, she believed she couldn't have been more justified if Ranma himself had been the guy to poison the Tokyo subway system.

Too bad Ranma didn't feel like complying with her. He ended her assault with a small jab to the abdomen to send her to the backyard and into the koi pond, where she briefly blacked out. Ranma didn't like hitting girls still, but he liked being attacked for no reason even less. "Just who invited her tonight anyway?"

Soun began to cry, wailing about Ranma mistreating his fiancée while the elder Saotome was shouting about him owing an apology to his fiancée. Nabiki and Nodoka just sat there stunned at the whole event, with Nabiki and Happosai still eating but going much slower to avoid missing anything entertaining.

Ranma had just about enough of this and stood up to face the two men/crybabies. Ranma felt that there had been already enough interruptions in his daily life to last his a decade so he wasn't gonna let his dinner time become a circus. It had happened before, but now his patience for it was up.

"Look Mr. Tendo, I ain't mistreatin' my fiancée. How was I, when she's right here sitting nexta me trying to enjoy a nice quiet dinner? I did nothing wrong to Kasumi but if you and Pops demand I apologize to her, then fine!" He then looked down to Kasumi, his expression now soft and gentle. "I'm sorry Kasumi, I ask you to forgive me from the bottom of your heart for whatever it is I did to bother everyone." Ranma could see her trying to hide her blush by looking down to her hands. _'She looks so cute.'_ Ranma thought to himself.

"RANMA! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO...?" Akane screamed once she recovered and threw a punch at him. Ranma saw it coming so he simply dodged it and took her arm in his and threw her over on her side, dazing her again.

"You know, from the way you've acted tonight I'm not sure if you're a girl or a gorilla dressed up a girl." He then turned to calmly look at the oldest Tendo daughter. "I'm sorry Kasumi, your dinner was delicious but I lost my appetite. If ya need me I'll be in the dojo."

He left, and everyone still in the room was dumbfounded and wanted answers. And there was only one person who could give at least some. "Um, I have something to tell all of you." Kasumi tried to gather the attentions of the group before her, knowing this would not be easy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"So the boy hit his head on a metal pole?" A rather relieved Genma summarized what Kasumi had just told them all after she finished her recap of what she knew. The panda-man briefly worried it was going to be something worse, something that would interfere with his plans. But something like potential brain damage didn't strike him as threatening.

"That's not all. For some reason, he now thinks _I'm _his fiancée and that I always have been. He doesn't seem to remember who Akane is or having ever met her." Kasumi added looking wearily to her side to see Akane who was still a bit dazed from her slight incident. She had been coherent long enough to hear most of the recollection, and didn't like what she heard.

"So Ranma hit his head and forgot who Akane is and now thinks you're his fiancée? Quite a day for you eh sis?" Nabiki snidely stated at her sister and finished with a rather sinister smirk, thinking how to sell this information out later. The idea that such a thing might put Kasumi in danger had yet to cross her mind.

"Can't say the boy has bad taste." Happosai commented.

Akane meanwhile had never been this angry at Ranma before, mostly because this was the first time that she was on the receiving end of a hit. "Father, I'm breaking off my engagement with that ass of a boy! For good this time! Don't even think of trying to convince me otherwise!" She shouted before she stomped her way up the stairs and into her room, followed by the sound of a slamming door echoing down the hall. No one could tell just what she planned on doing, but at least she stayed quiet.

"Tendo we cannot allow this to continue." Genma shouted. "How will the schools be joined if the boy refuses to even acknowledge his fiancée?"

"Quite right Saotome. We need to set him straight right away." Soun agreed, closing his eyes and folding his arms as he did.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Nabiki asked. "He doesn't even remember ever seeing Akane before just now, and if you try to push her on him, I guarantee he won't be fond of the idea."

"We'll have to jog his memory then." Genma stated like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

"Again, how?" Nabiki asked, not getting any answer. _'Thought so.'_ "Maybe for now we should just go with the flow. After all, what's the harm if he thinks Kasumi is his fiancée instead? It most likely won't be permanent anyway."

Kasumi wanted to say something about it, but any argument died on her tongue once it got there. Nobody ever asked what Ranma and Akane ever thought of their situation before, so why would they ask her?

"I suppose that may indeed be the best solution for the time being." Soun stated sagely after a heavy sigh. "For now, Kasumi will take Akane's place as Ranma's fiancée, at least until we either return his memories of her." After that, everyone went back to finishing dinner, although Kasumi ate much slower than usual.

After dinner, Kasumi's mind was in a whirl. After all, she became engaged in a matter of moments, Ranma actually fought Akane back, and Ranma acted mature on how he handled things since the head injury. That last one was without a doubt the most welcome change of all. _'That didn't sound right. It sounded like I was enjoying the part about Ranma's maturity.'_ She blushed as she recalled the words Ranma used to ask her forgiveness. They sounded completely sincere and honest, even if he had nothing to apologize for. She already knew that Ranma was a kind-hearted boy, but she never knew that he was well-mannered too, as she had mostly seen the lack of manners in him.

While she was doing the dishes and thinking the day over, Ranma walked in from the dojo to see her. "Let me help you with that." Ranma offered as he took the wet plate from her grasp and started to dry it. "I'm sorry for losing my temper back there. I really wanted to appreciate your dinner like it shoulda been. I just... didn't like the drama everyone was adding."

Kasumi really didn't answer him back, mostly because she didn't know how to. So she simply gave a nod of her head, while deep down inside she was rather enjoying all the attention that Ranma was currently giving her. After all, it was more than she often got from her own family.

* * *

"Akane, are you ok?" The middle Tendo daughter asked the youngest one as she entered the latter's room. Normally the oldest one would do this instead, but tonight Kasumi had other things on her mind.

So far Akane just sat at her desk staring at the wall and closet. She wasn't sulking, which was a good sign, but she wasn't doing any of the other things that indicated she was in a bad mood. Her eyes weren't red but Nabiki suspected she had cried at least a little bit. "Yes sis, I'm fine. I'm just a little..."

"Worried? Confused?" Nabiki added.

"Yeah." Akane replied weakly.

Nabiki sat down on her sister's bed, sighed, and continued. "Look Akane, I can pretty much tell what's gone through your mind so far. But from what I can gather Ranma is _not_ at fault here."

"But sis that pervert and Kasumi-" Akane interrupted, only to get interrupted by Nabiki holding up her hand.

"Let me finish okay? Kasumi told me she saw Ranma soar above her and then hit his head on a metal pole today. Who sent him flying in the first place?"

"But he deserved it for being such a jerk!"

"I didn't ask if he deserved it or not. I asked who sent him flying." Nabiki stated firmly.

Akane's face hung in shame. She knew that she was the one that had sent Ranma into LEO and if anyone was to blame here it was her. "Is there anything we can do to cure him?"

"I don't know, Akane. Maybe Dr. Tofu can do something, but it's still a long shot if you ask me." Nabiki told her sister, finishing with a curious look. _'So you DO want him to remember you? But is it your heart that wants that, little sister, or is it your ego?'_

* * *

When she got ready for bed that night, Kasumi was feeling rather giddy for once. Ranma and her had a wonderful time washing the dishes and overall just enjoying each others company. For once, it didn't feel like just another chore. Especially when Ranma kept complimenting her for various things. When she asked why he was being so nice tonight, he simply answered that he liked it when she smiled for real, rather than to keep up appearances for the sake of the others.

Kasumi didn't have any romantic feelings for Ranma at the present, having always thought of him as the little brother she never had. And because of the engagement to Akane, she initially never planned to feel any other way. But when she heard all the sweet things that Ranma had said to her, she just felt so special and she began to see him in a different light, as a young man with a heart of gold, who only acted crass and rude because that's what the people around him drove him to do.

"Maybe it really isn't that bad that Ranma thinks that I'm engaged to him." She whispered to herself as she dreamt, for the first time in a long time, of a future where she was married to anyone, let alone Ranma. In truth, Kasumi hadn't felt like this at all before, having a man care for her, say nice things to her and all the things associated with being engaged or in a relationship.

It felt nice.

* * *

"Son, can I talk with you for a moment in private?" Nodoka asked Ranma before he could go upstairs, where Genma already was.

"Sure Mom. About what?" He asked after turning towards her.

Nodoka led her son outside to the walkway surrounding the building and took a seat. To avoid any unexpected curse-triggering she had them sit away from the koi pond. "Son, do you know what you're doing?"

Ranma looked confused. "Umm... I'm sitting here with you. That's what I'm doing."

_'Maybe I should have been more specific.'_ Nodoka mentally sighed. "I meant regarding your behavior towards Akane."

"Just who is this Akane person? First Kasumi and now you; just who is this person I'm supposeda know?"

"Ranma, Akane is your real fiancée, and she just happens to be that young lady you were so crass to at dinner."

Ranma looked stunned. "That big ape was Akane? Well if that's what she's like then I'm glad I don't know her."

"Ranma!" Nodoka looked sternly at him. "That 'big ape' as you called her is your wife-to-be."

"I didn't agree ta that. In fact, I didn't agree ta anything about this." Ranma argued.

Nodoka looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"When Pops and I came here, me and Kasumi and Nabiki were introduced and I was told by Mr. Tendo to pick whichever of his daughters I wanted, like I was picking groceries or something. And I didn't getta decide; they picked Kasumi for me. Looking back, I'm glad they did. But still, it wasn't my original choice and I don't recall that thug being there when Mr. Tendo showed me my opinions."

Nodoka thought this over. _'Hmm... I better ask someone about this tomorrow.'_ "Even so, you should have been nicer to her."

Ranma looked offended. "Mom, you saw her. I was just sitting there mindin' my own business, and then she comes up to me and tries ta crush me. And you're telling me _I'm_ the one who acted wrong? Why?"

Nodoka didn't know how to answer that question. Saying 'because she's your fiancée' wouldn't have been acceptable to her son just then, and saying 'because she's a girl' would just start another argument. Also, in retrospect Ranma's actions were justifiable self-defense, and was she really going to tell her son that he was supposed to let a girl they wanted him to marry treat him like some kind of insect that needs to be squashed? And since when did being a girl give one an ironclad excuse to be physically violent? There was no good way to phrase that, for anyone.

"I just hate the idea of everything you two have been through together being thrown away so easily." Nodoka finally stated.

"Been through? Like what?" Ranma asked.

Nodoka saw she couldn't make anymore of a positive impact tonight. "Never mind. Maybe someday soon it'll make sense to you. But until then, remember that Akane is a resident here and not a guest, so be more civil to her." She then stood up.

"If you say so, but if she tries ta get violent again I do intend to defend myself." Ranma replied as he stood up.

"That's my boy." Happosai said as he showed up out of nowhere, startling both Saotomes.

"Were you listening to the whole thing?" Nodoka asked, not having too much respect if any for the old pervert.

"No, the first thing I heard was the 'big ape' comment." He answered before facing Ranma. "Glad to see you're willing to stand up for yourself Ranma. While I admit Akane's easy on the eyes, that's the only body part she's easy on and it's high time you stopped being such a pushover regarding her."

"Uh... thanks?" Ranma replied, not sure if it was a good thing Happosai was supporting him just now.

* * *

"Hey Dad, you got a minute?" Nabiki asked as she knocked on his bedroom door. Everyone else was going to sleep but Nabiki had one more thing she wanted to do tonight.

Soun opened the door, looking ready for bed but not like he had tried to sleep just yet. "Sure Nabiki. What can I help you with?"

"We need to talk about Akane."

Soun looked worried but not enough to cry just yet. "There's nothing wrong, is there?"

Nabiki shook her head. "Not yet, but I think in time there will be." She then entered her father's room and closed the door for some privacy. "Dad, you and I both know Akane pretty well. Well enough to know that once she stops being so angry at Ranma for forgetting her, after a while she's going to want him back. But that's where the problem will start."

Soun nodded in understanding and sat down on his bed. "Go on."

Nabiki carefully composed her thoughts, having to rely on her business woman persona to get this done right. "I just talked with Akane and she seems to be a little calmer. But not so much I would trust her to be civil around Ranma tonight. Anyway, I suspect that regardless of Akane's decision to cancel the engagement once and for all, as she has tried doing before in the past, once she feels she may actually lose him to someone else, even Kasumi, she will do something to reassert her claim."

Soun smiled. "That's good."

Nabiki lightly frowned. "And how is that good for Kasumi? Or Ranma? Or even Akane?"

Soun looked confused. "What do you mean Nabiki?"

"Think about it Dad. If Akane does what I'm predicting, and you approve, you're sending three messages across that a decent person shouldn't. One, that you believe Akane deserves the chance for happiness more than Kasumi does. Two, that your daughter's future-husband's opinion doesn't matter to you, even though you call him 'son' already to his face. And three, Akane's immature and violent attitude towards Ranma is completely acceptable. Although maybe that last message has already been sent thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" Soun asked.

Nabiki nodded. "Yes, thanks to you. Think about it Dad, you constantly harp on Ranma to be honorable and cry at the drop of a hat at any mistreatment towards Akane. But not once in the time Ranma's been here have you ever complained about how Akane treats him. Heck, he's a guest, practically family by now, and Akane hits him daily and you look the other way every single time. I know Akane is your daughter, blood is thicker than water and all that, thus you may be justified in being a little biased. But you have stated you want Ranma to take over the dojo; why would he want to when the girl you keep pushing on him acts like she wishes he would just die already?"

"But Akane does care about him." The Tendo patriarch argued.

"Maybe she does. But the problem is that Akane is too much in denial to admit it or show it. Either way, if you go up to them both and tell them the engagement between them is back on whether they like it or not, it will only cause problems. Ranma doesn't even know who she is anymore, so he won't have any reason to acknowledge it, and that will make Akane act violently and make him want it even less. At least with Kasumi he's acting nice."

"But... but what about the dojo?" The Tendo patriarch asked.

"What _about _the dojo?" Nabiki asked back. "Kasumi's just as capable of helping Ranma manage it as Akane would be. If anything she's better because she knows how to properly manage the house better than anyone."

"But Akane would be more helpful in teaching students." Soun responded.

Nabiki shook her head. "With her hair-trigger temper? You want to risk her blowing her top because a student mouths off? And there are people in this town that would be willing to press charges if Akane attacked them or their children. Not everyone looks the other way when they're the victim. She needs to learn there are better ways to handle issues with others than just beating them up. If you don't try to get that point across to her soon, she will end up doing something someday that will get her arrested."

Soun solemnly nodded. "So what do you recommend?"

Nabiki sighed. "From what I can figure, the best thing any of us can do is like I said before just go with the flow. Let Ranma keep thinking Kasumi is his fiancée until they decide to call it off. And keep an eye on Akane to make sure she doesn't mess it up. After all, if you really want the engagement to turn into a working marriage that will last, then you'll support the pairing that's most likely to work out. If you really believe that Akane's the best choice still, then I suggest you watch what she does for the time being. I say if she tries to warm up to Ranma soon, and I mean she stops hitting him and tries to be friendly, like Mom was with you, then she really does want the engagement to some extent. Otherwise, what she really wants to feel important because of Ranma."

Soun thought it over. "Ok Nabiki, I'll trust your judgment for the time being."

Nabiki smiled. "Thanks Daddy." She then turned to leave, but before she opened the door completely she stopped. "Oh, one more thing Dad. If by some chance things do work out between Ranma and Kasumi, would that actually be worse than Ranma and Akane doing the same?" He didn't answer, and she wasn't that surprised. "Just think it over a little." She then left the room and went to her own, leaving Soun to his thoughts.

* * *

The next morning when the sunlight began to creep into Kasumi's window, she awoke to a light yet familiar fragrant smell in her room. She sat up on her bed looking around to find where that sweet faint smell came from. Her eyes locked onto a small bouquet of vanilla and lily flowers that had been placed on her bedside table. There was a small note beside the flowers, which said 'To my fiancée, something to cheer you up this morning, as they remind me of you. Ranma.'

She smiled and blushed lightly. _'Wow, I never realized that Ranma noticed the faint vanilla and lily essence I've been using as a perfume. That's so considerate of him.'_

As she walked down the stairs she heard the light sound of chopping and the boiling of water. Naturally she wondered who was up and in the kitchen before her, and went to check. "Good morning, hope you slept well." Ranma greeted with his trademark smile to her.

"I did sleep well. Thank you for the flowers. I'm surprised you knew what scents I like." She blushingly said to him as she walked to his side and looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

"Glad you liked. Anyway, I wanted to help you start breakfast. Since you're awake now, did you want me ta hand this back over to you or would you want me ta help you finish?" He asked her as his face moved closer and closer until she felt his light breath on her cheeks.

"It's okay Ranma. You can do your katas. I can handle it from here, but thank you." She said evenly as she tried hard not to look into those deep blue eyes. When he walked away from her, she found it still wasn't easy to avoid looking towards him.

Before she finished, Kasumi heard someone else enter the kitchen behind her. She turned and saw Nodoka standing there. "Oh good morning Auntie."

"Good morning Kasumi. If you don't mind, I was hoping you could answer a question for me."

"Certainly."

"What exactly happened the day Ranma first arrived here and the engagement was originally chosen?" The Saotome matriarch asked.

Kasumi stopped working on the food and slowly turned to face the older woman. "Well, on that day during the afternoon, Father informed us about Mr. Saotome and Ranma coming and why. When they got here, it was raining so they were in their cursed forms, causing quite a bit of confusion for us. We were later told about the curses, the source, and the way it worked, and Father decided it wasn't too much of a problem and told Ranma our names and ages. It was decided that Akane was the best candidate for him so she became his fiancée then."

"But who decided that? Was it Ranma?" Nodoka asked.

Kasumi looked away, checking the food so she'd have an excuse to break eye contact. "No, it wasn't. It was me and Nabiki."

Nodoka arched an eyebrow. "You and Nabiki? You mean my son was denied the chance to pick his own wife? And Akane was left out of the decision too?"

"It's not something I'm proud of Auntie, but at the time I feared Ranma was immature and being with him would be boring and we'd prove incompatible." Kasumi replied softly. _'Although I will admit now I'm having second thoughts about that.'_

Nodoka was silent for a moment, which Kasumi was a little grateful for and fearful of. Then she spoke again. "You must understand Kasumi, that when I heard of the engagement between my son and your sister, I believed it was voluntary on both ends. That Ranma had gotten to know Akane and selected her and she agreed. No one had ever given me reason to believe otherwise. Their little arguments looked like the sort of thing I'd expect to see in a young couple, albeit a little more physical but they are martial artists so I figured that was just their way. Nevertheless, I presumed my son was given a choice. To hear he wasn't... doesn't please me."

"I'm sorry." Kasumi automatically replied.

"Anyway, it appears my son has now made a choice on his own. And as much as I honor the agreement between my husband and your father, my son's happiness is a more important goal to me. As his mother, I'm going to do what I feel is best for him and allow him to be with you since that seems to please him. I want your word that if he does go back to Akane, for whatever reason he has, it's because he wants to and not because you or your family pushes him off on her. My son deserves to choose for himself, just like anyone else."

_'Tell that to the Amazons.'_ Kasumi briefly thought, but didn't say. "Ok Auntie, you have my word. I will do what I can. And, if it pleases you to hear, I think I want to see where this new opportunity takes us."

Nodoka smiled. "I'd like that. Now, would you like some help?"

* * *

Breakfast was quite uncomfortable for Akane as she could not stand to look at her former fiancée flirting openly with her older sister. As far as she was concerned, flirting was not something that should be done when others could see it. But whenever she wanted to strike him just then for it, she remembered what Nabiki had said to her last night.

"Ranma, I heard you had a little accident with your head. Maybe you should let Dr. Tofu look at it after school." Akane mentioned as she looked at Ranma who was just about to finish his breakfast.

"Maybe you should let Dr. Tofu look at it Ranma, like Akane said." Kasumi lightly put her hand on his leg out of sight from the others as she didn't want the rest to see that she was actually starting to enjoy being Ranma's fiancée.

"Sure, since you asked me." Ranma replied as he looked at Kasumi and smiled as he held her hand in his and lightly gave it a squeeze also out of sight from prying eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Thanks to Nabiki, news had very quickly spread around the school that Ranma and Akane were no longer engaged. This of course brought out the other fiancées out to stake or reinforce their claim on the pig-tailed boy. Ukyo was naturally the first to pop up and show affection, by virtue of being in the same classroom as him. "Hey Ranchan, I got something for you." She said as she offered him three servings of her okonomiyaki at lunch.

"Thanks Ucchan. You make the best okonomiyaki."

"Spatula Girl no better than Shampoo." The purple-haired Amazon claimed as she rode her bike up to him. "Here Airen. Two large warm bowls of ramen. Is much better yes?"

"Well you do make the best ramen Shampoo." Ranma said politely.

Ukyo frowned. "But which of us is better?"

Shampoo glared at her rival, then returned to Ranma, who was already too busy eating both of their offered dishes to answer the question. "Airen really hungry. Did Violent Girl make lunch again?"

"Who?" Ranma asked with his mouth full.

"She means Akane. Oh, that reminds me, Nabiki said that you and her are no longer engaged. Is that true?" Ukyo said then asked.

"Shampoo want know that too."

Ranma shrugged. "We're definitely not engaged now. And I certainly don't plan to be anytime soon."

Ukyo and Shampoo beamed brightly. Akane was after all the top contender in the race to claim Ranma, so with her out of the way their chances to win skyrocketed. "So I bet that means you'll be moving out of the Tendo place and need somewhere else to stay, huh?" Ukyo asked, trying to avoid sounding too hopeful.

Ranma looked at her in confusion. "Why would I do that? Things are going well between me and Kasumi so why would I wanna leave?"

Now it was the two girl's turn to look confused. "Wait a minute. You... and... Kasumi?"

"Yeah. Why would I drop my engagement to Kasumi just cause this Akane girl suddenly shows up?"

"Airen think... Nice Girl is fiancée?" Shampoo asked.

"Is something wrong with you two?" Ranma asked with real concern. "Why are you acting like that's completely new to you?"

"Because it is." Shampoo answered.

"What do you mean? I've been engaged to Kasumi ever since I came to Nerima. You both know that."

Shampoo and Ukyo shared a look. "Umm... Ranchan, are you okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well..." Ukyo started, but didn't know how to finish.

And if this wasn't bad enough, Kuno decided to show up just then with his bokken handy and some medic tape on his face indicating a wound of some sort. Probably one he got from Akane earlier that day. "A-ha, found you vile sorcerer. I've discovered that your hold over my fierce tigress has finally been broken. Your skills must have weakened, hopefully enough that I can slay you and free the pig-tailed girl as well from your clutches."

"Don't you ever get tired of being stupid Kuno?" Ranma asked.

"HAVE AT THEE!" Kuno shouted as he rushed to strike Ranma with his wooden sword. Ranma wondered not for the first time why someone with Kuno's wealth and ego would settle for a practice weapon over a real one? After all, he wanted to slay Ranma rather than bruise him didn't he? Wouldn't a katana be a better choice? It's not like his father would punish him for bringing a weapon on school grounds. Heck the principal brought explosives to school and still somehow kept his job.

But that didn't matter at the moment. Ranma dodged effortlessly and kicked Kuno in his jaw, sending him to the other side of the field. "I can't wait until he graduates and leaves this place." Ukyo and even Shampoo couldn't help but nod in agreement. Ranma then turned to face them. "What were you two asking again?"

"Umm... we just wanted to make sure you were okay." Ukyo answered, unsure what to think about what he sprang on them regarding Kasumi. _'Crap, if he thinks he's engaged to Kasumi that really makes it hard for me to get his heart. Anyone else I wouldn't be so worried, even Akane, but Kasumi? How can I compete with her?'_

Shampoo was having similar thoughts. _'Aiyah. Airen think Nice Girl is bride-to-be now? I no can fight her like I could Violent Girl. Better ask Grandmother how to handle this.'_

"Well I am." Ranma answered. "Although I will hit the doc later ta settle everyone's nerves about this."

"That's good." Ukyo told him.

"Shampoo gotta go. Bye Airen." The purple-haired Amazon said before departing.

"Alright if I sit by you for the rest of lunch Ranchan?" Ukyo asked.

"Sure Ucchan. Why not?"

A little later Akane saw the two of them sitting together eating and chatting, and she saw red, mostly out of jealousy. _'So he ditches me, hangs all over Kasumi and still leads Ukyo on? That rotten pervert. Let's see if Kasumi wants you now you ass.'_

* * *

When school was over, Ranma went to Tofu's clinic to satisfy everyone's urges that he seek help. Tofu was outside watering some of the decorative plants and saw him approach. "Hi Ranma. Anything you need my help with?" Tofu politely greeted the young man.

"Yeah Doc. Y'see, everyone says there's something wrong with me and I should see you." He answered without worry.

Tofu arched an eyebrow. "Did anything happen to you?"

Ranma shrugged. "No not really. Got a nasty headache from hitting a metal pole yesterday but it's not like I've never collided with somethin' before."

"Ah, Akane sent you flying again?" Tofu asked, sounding like he was joking but was actually completely serious.

Ranma looked confused. "So you know Akane? Everyone's talking like I should too, but I swear I never saw her before."

Tofu looked surprised. "Really? Well, then, maybe I should have a look and see if there's anything to worry about your recent injury. Maybe an x-ray will be the best way to start." Tofu set the machine up and used it take a few pictures of Ranma's head. "I'll have to send these in to the general hospital for confirmation."

"Anything else I need to do?"

"How about you tell me what you do remember, since you don't remember Akane anymore apparently."

Ranma sat down and Tofu got a notepad to write down anything of interest. "Okay, I remember arriving at the Tendo's and meeting Kasumi and Nabiki. I remember being told to pick one as a fiancée but neither really wanted to volunteer, and ta be honest I wanted to get to know them first. Then Shampoo and Ukyo came to town claiming I'm supposed to marry them, and a bunch of guys show up always trying ta beat me up for stupid reasons. A bunch of other crazy things happen, and here I am today."

Tofu jotted down 'Memory seems stable but lacks Akane's presence'. "Has anyone told you anything about Akane?"

Ranma looked out the window. "Yeah, Kasumi tells me Akane's her sister and my mom says she's my 'real' fiancée. Yeah right. I'm sure I'd remember that. I mean, I remember Kasumi, Shampoo, and Ukyo, but not my 'real' fiancée? I don't think so. From what I have seen of her she's just a violent girl who thinks it's okay to hit me like a Whack-A-Mole whenever she wants. Why would I be engaged to that?"

Tofu wrote down 'Personality seems unaffected by cranial impact so far'. "Okay that should be all for now. Once the x-rays come back I would let you know, okay Ranma?"

"Okay, thanks Doc." Ranma said before he got ready to leave the clinic.

"Oh, Ranma, out of curiosity," Tofu added. "Who _do_ you remember as your fiancées?"

"Kasumi cause of the family agreement, Shampoo cause of those dumb Amazon laws, and Ukyo cause of Pops' stupidity. I don't count Kodachi in any way." Ranma answered.

Tofu looked stricken when he heard Ranma thought he was engaged to Kasumi. _'Ranma and... Kasumi? As a couple? Wait, what am I worried about? He's not her type. It won't last.'_ With that thought he relaxed. "Thanks Ranma. Try to stay out of trouble."

"Easier said than done Doc." Ranma added while he left the clinic and an old lady entered, next to be seen by the doctor.

* * *

Akane hurried home after school and immediately went to the kitchen, but not for something to eat. She knew it was the place Kasumi was most likely to be and she really wanted to talk to her sister. As expected Kasumi was drying off some of the dishes, while enjoying the scent of Ranma's bouquet she had brought down and placed in water.

"Kasumi, I caught that pervert red-handed. You don't have to play along with his twisted scheme anymore." Akane fiercely stated, making no effort to hide her rage.

Kasumi wearily sighed and didn't stop what she was doing or even turn to look at her youngest sister. "What do you mean by that Akane? And please speak more calmly."

"He was flirting with Ukyo at lunch. You see? He's nothing but a lousy pervert so you don't need to pretend to be his fiancée anymore."

Kasumi slowly turned to look at her sister, who was expecting to see approval for what she said but saw disbelief instead. "And how exactly was he flirting with her, Akane?" Kasumi put most of the statement's emphasis on Akane's name than anything else.

"He sat next to her and talked to her and smiled to her." Akane answered.

"That's it?" Kasumi asked.

"Of course."

"Akane, that's not flirting, that's being nice to a friend." Kasumi told her. "It's no different than when you're being nice to Ryoga."

Akane looked disturbed. "How can you defend that jerk? He's still as unfaithful as ever and you're okay with that? You should be telling him to go away and never come back!"

"And why should I do that? Because _you _don't want him here?" Kasumi asked.

"Well life would go back to normal if he just left." Akane replied bitterly, not really meaning it but in no mood to admit otherwise. Whenever Ranma left she always missed him terribly, even if she didn't always do so right away. She was usually on her best behavior once he returned, until he ticked her off again that is.

Kasumi simply shook her head in exasperation. "Look Akane, I know Ranma just sees Ukyo as a friend, and before I even think of accusing him of being unfaithful, I'd like to here about this from him personally."

"Why? He's just going to deny it like he always does."

"And how often does Ranma lie?"

Akane frowned. "All the time when his groupies are involved."

Kasumi shook her head again. "Or maybe the real problem is that you simply refuse to believe you can be wrong."

Akane looked rather offended. "Fine. Be that way. See if I care if he hurts you." She then stormed out and went to perform her favorite form of stress relief, breaking bricks. Maybe second favorite if you counted hitting Ranma.

Kasumi sighed. _'Why is she so hostile towards him? Jealousy is one thing, but sometimes it seems her outlook on him is almost like 'He's-bad-because-I-say-he's-bad-and-that's-all-the-evidence-I-need'. Well little sister, until you learn to trust him I'm not going to bother trying to get him to remember you anymore. Why should he, if you're not going to put any effort on your end? After all, relationships are designed for the good of two people, not just one.'_

About fifteen minutes later Ranma in his female form, still a little wet, entered the household and came into the kitchen. "Hi Kasumi. How are you?" She asked with a small hug.

Kasumi couldn't hide her blush but made no effort to dislodge the gender-bender. "I'm fine Ranma, thank you. I did just have a rather exhausting talk with Akane. She claims you were flirting with Ukyo."

"Flirting? I was just sitting nexta her at lunch time. I didn't even invite her over; she asked and I said sure. She's my friend so what was I supposeda say?"

Kasumi nodded. "That's what I thought. But Akane has pretty low standards regarding what's unacceptable behavior from a man. I think she was actually hoping I'd be angry and tell you to leave me alone from now on." She sensed Ranma's worry. "Don't worry, I trust you. You wouldn't treat me like you've been doing if you were going to leave me that easily."

"Thanks Kasumi. Anything you wanted me to do?"

"Not that I can think of. You can relax if you want. Oh, what did Dr. Tofu say?"

Ranma let her go. "Nothing much. Just took some x-rays, asked some questions, and said he'd ask someone at the hospital ta go over it all."

"I guess that's not too bad." Kasumi said.

There was a brief pause for Ranma to warm up the water and return to his male form. Then he continued the conversation, in a different direction. "Hey Kasumi, did you wanna go somewhere this weekend?"

Kasumi nearly dropped the plate she was holding. "You mean... like a date?"

"Sure. I don't think we've had a chance yet but now I'd like to try, once we figure out how to keep the others from interfering." He told her with a warm smile.

Kasumi's heart was pounding, from surprise and strangely excitement rather than fear. "Actually, I think... I'd like that Ranma. Would Saturday be okay?"

"Fine with me. Hopefully I'll be able to surprise you and make you happy." He said before leaving to get some ideas.

"You already have Ranma. You already have." Kasumi quietly said to herself, with a small grin. _'An actual date? I've never had one of those, even back when I was in high school. I never had the time to, until now. Oh my, what do I wear?'_

* * *

Saturday came and Kasumi found she was more excited then she originally anticipated. After all, she never got the chance to date in high school; she didn't even remember the last time she was asked out on one. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't even sure she had ever been asked out at all. Throughout high school it was pretty clear that all of her time after school was consumed by either homework or housework so she'd never have time for dating.

But now she could make the time and would. Today, she would be the one treated with kindness and have a meal she didn't have to prepare herself, and she knew she was going to enjoy this. After all, every giver wants someone else to sooner or later give back, and now it was her turn to receive special treatment.

Kasumi stood in front of her bedroom mirror, usually used to ensure her hair was in place, and looked over herself one last time. She was wearing a sleek black dress with one strap on her left shoulder, with her hair hanging over the right one like it usually was. The dress almost seemed to glitter when the light struck it right. She wore dark blue shoes and a golden bracelet on each wrist. She decided to forgo carrying her purse tonight, as Ranma had insisted on being the one to pay. She wondered where he got the money from but decided not to ask.

Satisfied, Kasumi left the room and went downstairs. She saw him dressed up rather nicely, patiently waiting for her. No one else was downstairs, as Soun and Genma were out drinking and Nodoka was making sure they didn't do too much while enjoying some drinks herself. Nabiki was off minding her own business, and Akane was staying the night at a friends just so she could vent her frustrations and hear others comfort her about them. As for Happosai, he was doing what he most loved do in a neighboring district for the night.

"Wow Ranma you look quite handsome." She said when she saw him in possibly the fanciest thing she ever saw him done, aside from the tuxedo at the failed wedding. It wasn't overly fancy, but compared to his Chinese clothes and Jusenkyo guide uniform it was a considerable step up. It was the same thing he wore when he thought Tsubasa was a girl and was trying to get 'her' into men.

"Thanks Kasumi. You're even lovelier than normal and I didn't think that was possible." He told her.

Kasumi made no effort to hide her blush or smile. "Why thank you Ranma. So, what did you arrange for us tonight?" All she knew was that Ranma wanted her to wear something dashing.

"Well, thanks to Nabiki, I got some a reservation at one of the better restaurants in town. I figured Ucchans and the Nekohanten wouldn't be a good idea, but you might feel uncomfortable at one of those classier places, so I thought Ozakura's would be good."

Kasumi was surprised and impressed. Ozakura's was one of the restaurants that didn't have too much of a high-class atmosphere to it but was fancier than most walk-in restaurants and neither of them would feel overdressed for it. It was also a little more expensive than what she thought was in Ranma's limits. "That's a nice choice Ranma. How are we going to get there? And are you sure you can afford it?"

"We could walk, but if you'd like, I don't mind giving you a ride. And don't worry about the money. Nabiki's not the only one who can profit from my fights after all." He said.

Kasumi smiled. "I think I'd like that. Just as long as you don't drop me."

Ranma then held her in his arms bridal style. "Like I would dare do such a horrible thing to such a terrific woman." He then took to the roofs. Kasumi wasn't at all afraid, simply enjoying the sight of the trip and the feel of being in his strong arms.

* * *

Dinner went well for them and was, by Ranma's standards, quite uneventful. But that was exactly how he wanted it. No intruders, no competitors, no threats, just him and her enjoying each other's company. And since there was no need to be on his guard, he gave his full attention to his date, making her feel special as she rarely got that kind of attention. Kasumi was amazed more that Ranma ate civilly when the food showed up than the fact that he was able to afford tonight. She guessed that as long as Genma wasn't there to take it, he saw no reason to wolf it down.

When the two finished, Ranma took Kasumi to a secluded area in the park where he had already left a radio hidden for them. He turned it on, and started slow-dancing with her. The light from the moon reflecting on the pond water made it seem like something out of a fantasy story, and the sounds of the cicadas went well with the music. And even though it was night, neither were cold and the wind was soft and gentle. Kasumi thought nothing could have made this one moment better for her, and knew she would never forget this night.

When the two finished, they went home with Kasumi back in Ranma's arms. "Hope you had fun Kasumi." He told her as he set her down at the doorstep.

Kasumi hugged him. "It was, Ranma. Tonight was the best night I've had in a long time. Thank you so much."

Ranma pulled away a little and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm glad. Let's try something next Saturday if ya want."

Kasumi nodded. "I'd like that. And it doesn't have to be as expensive next time. Let's try something simpler."

"If ya want." Ranma said.

"I should probably get to bed. I got to get up earlier tomorrow. Good night Ranma." She told him before going upstairs.

"Good night Kasumi dear." He told her while she was still in earshot, staying down to get something to drink before he went to bed himself.

Once in her room, Kasumi laid on her bed before realizing she was still in her dress, and for now didn't care. _'That was everything I could have asked for. I never knew Ranma could be so... charming.' _She then got up and put on her night clothes, her smile never leaving her face._ 'I've made up my mind. For now, I'm keeping the engagement. Akane's had her chance; now it's my turn.' _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next day when Kasumi was up making breakfast for everyone at the Tendo estate, Ranma somewhat surprised her by making up early and greeting her. "Good morning Kasumi. Wouldja like a hand with that?" He then placed a new bouquet of vanilla and lavender flowers in a vase for her.

"If you could chop up the green onions that would be nice." She told him, no longer holding any reservations about giving him eye contact when he helped her. Now she welcomed it rather than felt awkward, and openly smiled at receiving the bouquet. "I'm glad you're up. There's something I wanted to tell you before the others were able to interfere."

"What is it?" He asked, more curious than anything else.

Just then, Kasumi looked like she was preparing herself for the worst. "It's about you... and Akane." She didn't want to bring this up, but her conscience wouldn't let her just ignore the issue.

"Me and her? What about her?" Ranma asked.

"You see, Akane is my younger sister, and has been living here the whole time. I'm not entirely sure why you forgot her, but you have met her before and knew her. I wanted to tell you all this sooner, but with the way things have been so far I never got the chance to say anything more than I already have." Kasumi explained.

Ranma slowly nodded. "Oh, is that why you and everyone else wanted me to go to Tofu's?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, we were worried that collision with the metal pole had given you some brain damage."

"Well, I feel fine. As good as ever."

Kasumi nodded. "I'm glad, but there's one more thing you need to know. You see, you were engaged to her before me."

Ranma just looked at her. "Seriously? I thought everyone was just joking about that? Why her?"

Kasumi slowly looked away. "Because... we made a bad choice. At the time Nabiki and I decided to give Akane a chance to get close to you since she had issues with men and we thought time with you might help her get over them."

Kasumi paused briefly, then Ranma asked something. "What was she like?"

Kasumi almost cried, suddenly worried he would feel honorbound to go back to Akane. Somehow the thought hurt her more than she expected it to. "She... was nice... at times. Other times though she was a violent maniac. You weren't a completely innocent party yourself, but neither was Akane, even though both of you felt otherwise most of the time. You did help her out several times and even saved her life on occasion, and she was grateful and tried to do some nice gestures for you too. Like cook for you. Oh, a word of warning, don't eat anything Akane offers you. You won't like it."

Kasumi then looked directly at Ranma. "But... the biggest problem was that there was no trust in your relationship. Akane never really bothered to listen to you and you did have a tendency to put your foot in your mouth around her a lot. I think Akane really does care about you in some way, but she just doesn't know how to properly show it. And... in your own way you cared about her too, and you didn't know how to show it either, outside of saving her when she was in trouble."

"So what did we do about it?" Ranma asked.

"You two... always fought each other. Part of it was you didn't trust each other, and I think part of it was to prevent our fathers from trying to marry you two right away. Neither of you were ready for marriage but no one would really let you two work things out at your own pace. That and the fact that Akane insists you're a pervert and you called her uncute so much. Basically, your relationship with her was almost doomed from the start. Maybe you would have worked things out if the pressure and obstacles were removed, but under the circumstances no healthy relationship could ever form."

"So... what about us?" Ranma cautiously asked.

Kasumi got closer to him and gently held his hands. "Ranma, last night was wonderful. I admit I didn't think about us as fiancées before, but now... I think I would like to see if we can have a chance. You and Akane didn't work out, and you weren't compatible with Nabiki either, in case you forgot that time too. But you and I... I think with a little time together, and fewer obstacles, we can decide for ourselves what we want."

Ranma softly smiled. "Thank you Kasumi. I promise I'll try to be worthy of you."

* * *

After breakfast, Ranma had asked Akane to speak with him privately in the dojo. Naturally she was suspicious, but overall mostly curious. Soun, Genma, and Nodoka were all hopeful that this was a sign of him returning back to his normal role as her fiancée, while Nabiki had no strong suspicion about what was on Ranma's agenda. Kasumi had a very good idea though.

As a result, when Ranma and Akane were in the dojo to be alone, Soun, Genma, Nodoka, and Nabiki were all listening in while Kasumi was giving them what little privacy she could. Not quite what Ranma wanted, but he figured he couldn't get it to be any better.

Ranma leaned against the wall while Akane just stood there, looking like she didn't know what to expect. Ranma, never too good with speaking, decided to just get the ball rolling. "Akane, I've just been told something I'd like to hear from you. Were we ever a couple?"

Thinking he meant in a romantic or perverted way, Akane's defenses took over. "No way. Why would I ever want to be a couple with a perverted half-man like you?"

"And why would I wanna be with a violent thug like you?" Ranma added with more casualty then hostility. Regardless, Akane saw red at the insult and pulled out her hammer to clobber him. Like last time, he intercepted and broke the tool, making Akane lose her balance briefly. "Y'know, by doing that you just proved me right."

"Shut up! I'm no thug; I'm a real martial artist too!" Akane glared, as if daring him to argue her claim.

Ranma didn't look convinced. "Either way, I just wanted ta know if what Kasumi said about us was true. I find it hard to believe you and I ever were fiancées."

"Good, because I never wanted to marry you anyway." Akane declared. _'I wasn't ready for it but no one else cared about that. Maybe if they backed off about it there wouldn't have been such a wedge between us.'_

"Then it looks like you're free not to now." Ranma said then turned to leave.

"But you better leave my sister alone. You don't deserve her." Akane added. _'Please Ranma, don't get too attached to her.'_

Ranma just stopped but didn't turn around. "Why doncha let her be the judge of that?" He left the room before she could comment further.

Everyone watching had been disappointed in what they saw, for various reasons. Nodoka in how eager Akane was to defame her son, Soun in how uncooperative both teens were to each other, Genma in how Ranma might derail his gravy train with his refusal to accept Akane, and Nabiki in how Akane just couldn't show some kindness to Ranma if she really wanted him to remember her.

* * *

At around noon Kasumi was out for a walk to spend a little time out of the house. After spending almost all of her time indoors cleaning up after others and preparing their food, sometimes she got a touch of cabin fever and just needed some fresh air. She would have invited Ranma along, but he was caught up having another scuffle with Mousse and Kuno for stupid reasons.

Kasumi came to a stop and sat at a park bench, listening to some birds chirping and enjoying the caress of the breeze. She heard some footsteps approach, and turned to see who was coming her way. She saw it was Shampoo, who looked rather harmless at the moment compared to other times she just showed up.

"Hi Shampoo." Kasumi greeted just to be polite.

"Nihao Nice Girl." Shampoo greeted back with little enthusiasm. "Is true Airen with you now?"

Kasumi didn't know how to answer that, but ultimately decided to just be honest. Lying would only get Ranma and her in more trouble later on most likely. "Yes, I'm currently holding the Tendo-Saotome engagement with Ranma. And let me just say, I can see now why so many girls want him."

Shampoo smiled. "Yes, he good man. Hard to find those back home."

"What about Mousse?"

Shampoo looked surprised to hear such a thing. "Mousse stupid boy, not good man."

"And yet I recall you have called him your friend before. You must like him at least a little, even if not romantically." Kasumi added.

"Yes Mousse okay friend, but not someone Shampoo can love." The Chinese girl stated.

"Why not? Have you ever given him the chance?" Kasumi asked. "I'm not saying you have to love him instead of Ranma. I'm just wondering what exactly is it that makes you not want to consider him. I mean, he does know how to fight and, no offense, he does understand the Japanese language better than you so he's not really that dumb or weak."

Shampoo sighed. "Can Shampoo sit down?" Kasumi nodded and made room for the purple-haired foreigner who took a seat. "Mousse is too clingy for Shampoo. And... I not sure Mousse like Shampoo in right way. Like he not know who I really is."

"Ah I see." Kasumi said. "You're afraid that he doesn't really like you, but rather what he believes you to be. And if he ever found out more about the real you, he'd probably stop being your friend altogether or just get even more clingy." Shampoo looked at her in awe. "Hey, Nabiki's not the only one in my family with a brain."

"You mostly is right I guess. I not know how else put it." Shampoo added.

"Have you ever simply told him this?" Kasumi asked. "Sit down with him and rationally explain your feelings on the subject? If you don't, he may just take that as you playing hard to get so he'll be more desperate to get your approval. Look at how he attacks Ranma in hopes of winning you."

"Shampoo suppose you is right." Shampoo said while adverting her gaze away.

"Also, Shampoo, I noticed something about what you said." Kasumi said calmly. "You claim that Mousse is too clingy and doesn't know the real you, but aren't you the same way with Ranma?"

Shampoo returned her attention towards the oldest Tendo daughter. "What you mean? I no like that."

"Think about it. You pop up out of nowhere and try to capture Ranma in an embrace without his admitted approval beforehand, you barely take the time to find out what he's like as a person, and you often try to charm him to accept you by saying you love him and wish to be with him. Can you honestly say that isn't the same thing Mousse does to you? The only difference is with Ranma you're on the giving end."

Shampoo didn't know how to best argue against that, and while she tried to think of a good way to, she ended up thinking Kasumi's words over. The Tendo woman actually had a very good point. Then the Amazon thought up a response. "But Shampoo does know Ranma and care about him."

"Hasn't Mousse said the same thing about you to you?" Kasumi asked. "Either way, what exactly do you know about Ranma? Aside from the facts that he likes ramen, doesn't like cats, has a curse and is a strong martial artist, just how much do you know about him?"

Shampoo tried to argue Kasumi's question, but any actual argument died on her tongue as soon as she opened her mouth. Just then she realized just how much she actually knew about the young man she wanted to be with and found it was actually very little. Not enough to justify forming a lifelong commitment to anyone. She slumped her head and shoulders in depression.

"I'm sorry if I upset you Shampoo, but you needed to know this before things got out of hand. If you really care about Ranma, try and be his friend rather than a female version of Mousse. And if things do work out between you two, then I will support you both."

Shampoo looked back up at Kasumi. "Really?"

"Yes, but only if Ranma himself actually chooses you as his wife someday. And I hope that if he chooses me, you'll support us just the same."

"But... but Shampoo must have Ranma as husband or else can't go home." The purple-haired Amazon told her, less confidently then she wanted to sound.

"If you really want Ranma as a husband, don't you want it to last more than a few months? And don't you want a husband that stays for more reasons than just honor or obligation?" Kasumi asked. "If you really want Ranma, try to be his friend. If you can't or won't, then you're no better than Mousse."

Shampoo thought it over, and eventually nodded. "Thanks for talk, Nice Girl. Shampoo better go now. Bye bye."

"Have a good day." Kasumi said as the Chinese girl walked away. "I think I really got through to her. Maybe I should try the same with Ukyo."

Shampoo meanwhile had her mind going a mile a minute, thinking in her native Mandarin. _'I know I can't hurt a non-martial artist like her, but I hoped I could at least talk her out of her bond with Airen. Instead, she almost talked me out of mine with him, all by bringing up Mu Tzu. But she did it so well and said so much I can't ignore. Maybe she's right. Maybe I really do need to be friends with Airen if I want to be with him. After all, I don't want to bring him back home only for him to resent me and only stay because of the children. The big problem however will be telling this to Great-grandmother.'_

* * *

Feeling inspired by what she did to settle Shampoo's rush to claim Ranma, Kasumi went down to Ukyo's shop to see the chef. The restaurant was currently going through it's lunch rush so she sat down and told Konatsu she'd wait until Ukyo was available for a quick chat. The wait ended up taking about forty-five minutes, and Kasumi was glad she had picked up a book at the library first.

When the rush was over and everyone was eating, Kasumi approached the counter. "Hi there Kasumi, don't see you come around here so often. What can I get for you?" Ukyo greeted professionally.

"Actually, I just wanted a moment of your time to discuss something with you." The older girl told her.

Ukyo got defensive. _'She's either here to fight for Ranchan, or let me have him. But I can't exactly see her doing either.'_ "I suppose we can do that if it's quick. Konatsu, mind the grill but call if there's a group."

"Will do Ukyo." The gender-confused ninja replied.

Ukyo led Kasumi into the back room, and kept the door mostly closed for privacy but not entirely closed for the sake of keeping an eye on Konatsu. No way was she going to risk him making a mess like that time she was sick and he with Ranma's and Akane's help ran the shop in her place. "So what's on your mind?"

"As you've probably already guessed, it's about Ranma." Kasumi started, and Ukyo nodded. "First, I want to say I'm not going to say you have no rightful claim to him. Considering what his father did I understand your right to be engaged to him." Ukyo looked happy to hear this. "However, I hope you're rational enough to realize that I have a strong claim to him too. Are you?"

Ukyo saw this was a trap. Saying 'yes' meant she couldn't hog Ranma to herself, and saying 'no' would show she was irrational. So she gave the safest answer possible. "I understand the agreement between the Saotome's and Tendo's if that's what you mean."

"Partially, but I meant my personal right to claim him instead." Kasumi clarified. "As a Tendo, I do have the right to be considered an option, and since Akane has been voided from consideration and Nabiki has already been proven unsuitable, I have a right to take the claim between the families. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do." Ukyo said, feeling like she was permitted the rivalry between herself and a new candidate for Ranma's wife but had no choice not to. Her case was sound after all.

"Now, as we both have strong claims to wed Ranma, the reasonable thing to do would be let him be the one who selects us. Right?" Kasumi added.

_'Dammit she keeps trapping me. I feel like I'm bargaining with Nabiki here.'_ The okonomiyaki chef thought. _'If I agree, I might lose in the end, but if I disagree I have to explain why without sounding petty or possessive, which I can't.'_ "I suppose." was all she managed to say.

"Good. Now, I know Ranma calls you his best friend, and thus I'm aware there is a chance he will choose to marry you. I will support that as long as he comes to that decision himself and I see your relationship works like one should. Will you be the same if he ends up wanting to marry me?"

"What do you mean if our relationship works like one should? Who are you to say how it should be done?" Ukyo asked.

"I don't presume I'm any form of authority regarding how people should behave, unless they're in my house of course where I do have that right." Kasumi told her. "What I meant was if your relationship works the way most people expect it to. As in friendly discussions without hostility or prejudice, holding hands and showing affection without ulterior motives or trying to sense one in the other, that sort of thing. Isn't that what you want?" Ukyo nodded. "If you and Ranma can do that, then I will be happy for the both of you. Will you do the same if it happens for me and Ranma instead? As his friend, I hope you want his happiness too."

Ukyo felt trapped yet again, but not as badly this time. If she said 'no' then she showed she didn't deserve to be Ranma's friend because she cared about her own happiness rather than his. She sighed. "If it does come to that, it's only fair I support Ranchan."

"I'm glad." Kasumi said.

"Mistress Ukyo, I need you up front." Konatsu called out.

Ukyo stood up. "I better get back to work."

Kasumi nodded and stood up. "Thank you for your time Ukyo." She then left the restaurant.

_'Why do I get the feeling I've all but admitted defeat to her?'_ Ukyo asked herself before returning to the grill.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Five weeks had passed since Ranma's recent head impact and Akane was just about having enough of Ranma and her oldest sister's public show of affection. In the mornings Ranma would flirt with Kasumi, and when he came back from school the same thing happened. During the weekends it was worse because Ranma would help her sister in all her chores. Akane started to suspect that her sister enjoyed the attention she got from Ranma more than she wanted to admit to the others. After all, Kasumi had began to smile a lot brighter and her attitude became so much lighter. No longer did she just go through the motions of a housekeeper; now she seemed to have more of a reason to get out of bed than just caring for her family.

She was watching the two of them from the balcony as they were hanging the laundry to dry. Giggles and light laughter could be heard from below mixed with with cheery small talk about random things and memories. "They sure look happy don't they? Almost like the perfect couple." Nabiki noted as she walked up from behind the sorrowful-looking Akane.

"Whatever." Akane huffed, trying to hide the feeling of sadness from her voice.

"You know I haven't seen Kasumi this happy since... as long as I can remember. Maybe Ranma..." Nabiki stopped as she looked at her younger sister staring blankly at her oldest sister having fun with her former fiancée. Nabiki knew that Akane was wishing that it was her downstairs there giggling instead of her older sister but she couldn't bring herself to say that nor could she push the blame of starting this as it was her who had punched Ranma airborne. No matter how much she wanted it, this time she had no scapegoat.

That did not necessarily mean she didn't try to take her anger out on him occasionally still. Akane had a very short fuse, exploding with rage almost the same instant it appeared, and striking someone was simply the best remedy she knew. The problem now was that for the first time ever, that someone was striking back. Ranma had not once let himself be targeted and always immobilized her, without hurting her since that might upset Kasumi. Nevertheless, Akane's assaults slowed down because they were proving ineffective, but her irritation at the events around was still as strong as ever and she had no idea what to do about it.

_'Ranma...'_ She mentally sighed, more out of longing than frustration. _'Will you ever notice me again?'_

* * *

Saturday came and once again Ranma took Kasumi out for the night. This would be their fourth date, and the residents of the Tendo estate had by now learned to have their own meals prepared on Saturday evenings at least. Kasumi felt a small amount of guilt at leaving them without making something first, but Ranma assured her that it wasn't healthy for them all to be so dependent on her, and she started to agree. Genma started taking Nodoka out on dates too on Saturdays, saying it would help them reconnect after their long time apart, but everyone suspected it was to keep away from any of Akane's attempts to cook. Nodoka didn't mind, as long as he actually paid for what they ate.

While they were out, Soun moved a few rocks by the koi pond that had fallen out of place due to the Saotome spars while Akane approached him. "Is there something you need my help with, Akane?"

"Dad, are you actually starting to like what's going on with Ranma and Kasumi?" Akane asked.

Soun stopped what he was doing. "From what I can see, things are working out greatly. So yes, I do like what's going on."

"But... but it's not fair. He's supposed to be mine, not hers." Akane proclaimed.

Normally, Soun would have rejoiced and cried a river at hearing Akane say something like that. But for the past few weeks, ever since his chat with Nabiki, Soun had kept a watchful eye on Akane and how she acted around Ranma without the pressure of the engagement on her. He saw she made no effort to spend time with him and get him to remember her, but plenty of effort to try and ensure he knew his place below her in her mind. Such actions and inactions did not show any reasonable interest on her part for him.

"It's interesting how you say he's yours instead of you care about him, Akane. Makes it sound like you view him as a piece of property instead of even a friend." Soun stated.

Akane looked shocked that her father countered her. It was only natural, since she was used to him acting in her favor for many years. "How can you say that?" She sounded offended and somewhat enraged.

"Can you say I'm wrong?" Soun asked. "What exactly is Ranma to you, Akane? Is he a friend? A potential love interest? A mere house guest? Or someone to inflate your ego and take the brunt of your anger? Which is it? Answer me."

Akane just stood there looking dumbfounded. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go for her here. She was going to ask her father to switch the engagement back to her and he was supposed to agree and be happy things were back to normal. Why wasn't he going along with it?

"I said answer me, Akane." Soun repeated, standing firmly with his arms crossed.

"I... I don't hate him, Dad." Akane finally answered.

"That's not what I'm asking. What is Ranma to you?"

"I... I don't know! Okay? But I miss him and I want him back." Akane blurted out on the verge of tears.

Soun looked unaffected. "And how exactly do you miss him? He's here every day and at school with you all the time. And you have plenty of chances to see and speak with him here so how do you miss him? Is it really him you miss, or is it the attention you got from him and from being his fiancée that you really miss instead?"

Once again Akane was without reply, so her father continued. "Look Akane, things have been brought to my attention recently. When you and Ranma were engaged, I held a sort of double standard. I always insisted that Ranma make things work between you two, but never once did I demand you put in the same effort. Nor did I punish you for being so abusive to him, and yet I bet if Ranma had so much as slapped you back even once, even if it was completely justified, you would have called him a complete thug and ordered him out of the house. Can you say I'm wrong? And worst of all I probably would have agreed with you."

"But I'm a girl. He's not supposed to hit me." Akane tearily shouted.

"But it's perfectly okay for you to hit him whenever the mood strikes you?" Soun asked. "Do you think your mother treated me the way you treated Ranma? Why should Ranma want to marry you if you act like that and say it's your Kami-given right to?"

"But he deserves it for being such a big-headed, perverted, idiotic jerk so much." Akane declared firmly, her tears starting to dry up now.

"And yet you clearly want me to take the engagement away from your sister so you can have that same jerk as your fiancée instead?" Soun countered. "Why? If you can't stand him, why do you want him as your fiancée? Do you care about him more than you're willing to admit? Remember Akane, the whole idea behind an engagement is the intention to marry someday. If you can't see yourself marrying him, then I won't cater to your whim."

"But Daddy..." Akane started.

Soun held up a hand to silence her. "No, Akane. This is my decision. If you want the engagement back, then you are going to have to prove to me and Ranma that you care about him and aren't afraid to show it. And by care for him, I mean no mallets, no punches, no food you refuse to taste-test yourself beforehand, and no accusations at the drop of a hat. Only then, and if Ranma and Kasumi decide to end their own relationship, will I consider the idea. But if this whole request is just about some petty desire to have an excuse to be possessive and violent towards Ranma again, then my answer is a solid 'No, No, No.'"

Soun then went back inside the house. _'Thank you Nabiki. Your advice really helped me out there.'_

Akane meanwhile just stood there, shedding a few tears. She couldn't understand why things didn't go as she planned. Did she say something wrong, or was her father being stubborn?

Nabiki, who had been up on the balcony saw the whole thing and was quite impressed by her father. Although she did suspect he only did it because she was watching. Shoving that thought aside, she decided to catch her sister's attention for a bit. "Hey Akane, you plan on just standing there for long?"

Akane looked up and didn't look happy. "Shut up Nabiki."

The middle Tendo daughter was as undaunted as ever. "Y'know, Daddy had some pretty good points Akane. I suggest you think them over if you really want Ranma back. And if you want anyone else to take your side here, think about why you want him back in the first place. And consider this too, Ranma's been engaged to Kasumi for over a month now. During which she's been patient, nonviolent, and polite to him. How exactly would you treat Ranma by comparison if he _was_ returned to you? What would you do to make him want to stay with you rather than go back to Kasumi?"

She then went back inside to her room, leaving Akane to think things over no matter how much she didn't want to.

* * *

The next day when Ranma was raking the yard and Kasumi was sweeping upstairs, the phone rang and Soun was the one to answer it. "Hello? Oh, Dr. Tofu, good to hear from you. Yes. Oh, his results came in? You want me, Genma, Nodoka, and Akane to visit you as soon as we can? Sure, later this afternoon. Good. See you then." The eldest Tendo family member hung up the phone and proceeded to continue his game of shogi while telling his best friend and his wife of the doctor's request to meet them later. They were hopeful for some results, as Tofu had been examining Ranma at least once a week since this whole mess started.

"Was that the doc?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. He said the results of the tests are in, but he has something he wants to tell me, your parents,and Akane first." Soun answered.

"Okay, I can wait." Ranma added then went back to the yard work.

A little under an hour later, the four figures of Soun, Genma, Nodoka, and Akane entered Dr. Tofu's office it had the air of seriousness which they could feel around them. "I'm glad you came. I had to have a professional look over this to confirm my theory since I'm not equipped to handle this sort of thing. And as you should remember, I had an appointment arranged at the general hospital to provide additional study." The Tendo's and Saotome's nodded, remembering that event from two weeks ago.

"What did they say?" Genma asked.

Tofu sighed. "What I'm about to tell you all may take a while so go ahead and have a seat. And please, no interruptions of any kind would be appreciated." When everyone sat down and looked attentive, Tofu continued.

"It seems that Ranma has received a rather heavy impact on the left side of his brain. It's usually reserved for memory and other major functions. But his test came out okay and he would have no long lasting effects or damage to his skull or central nervous system. So all his motor functions are still working as good as ever and from his visits I can tell he doesn't seem to show much difference from his old self."

He paused for a bit before continuing. "But I was given a warning that it may cause his attitude to change somewhat and he may completely forget some things. For example, things he doesn't really want to remember, people and places that are more associated with misery than anything else, and also it could bring out some hidden desires or real feelings that he had kept inside of him. In these cases the effects are permanent, I'm afraid, as the initial shock from the impact shocked his cerebral nerves to shut down then start up again, sort of like erasing then re-memorizing from scratch, but filtering out the undesirable stuff and prioritizing the good stuff."

Tofu worried just what that implied about Akane and Kasumi in regards to Ranma, and he didn't like the conclusion he came to. Nevertheless, he pulled a large file out and then inserted Ranma's test results into it.

Akane was surprised that the file was so thick. "Is that Ranma's file?" _'It almost looks like a textbook.'_

Dr. Tofu, seeing from the look that Akane gave him, somewhat hesitantly answered that question. "Actually, this is Ranma's file for just these past three months. This entire cabinet is for all of Ranma's files. It would be larger but I had to throw away his files from last year."

Akane's face dropped as she never realized that she and the others had caused Ranma that much bodily harm. Before now she always assumed Ranma deserved every bit of pain, even if she never stopped to think why or bothered to have a good reason even if she did.

"So overall, my son is okay and healthy?" Nodoka asked.

"For now yes, his mentality is normal and should in no way have dangerous after effects. As for his physical health, that depends on how long until his next fight with someone out to hurt him for their own gain." Tofu answered.

"But Ranma's had thousands of head impacts since he got here, and surely thousands more before then. Why did this happen now?" Akane asked.

Tofu adjusted his glasses. "Because Akane, damage naturally builds up and accumulates. For example, if you were to keep punching stone over and over again, even though your hand gets used to it, you never gain a total immunity to damage from it. Sooner or later, your body wouldn't be able to take much more and it gets hurt with lasting affects. You could still rip a muscle, shatter a bone, dislocate something, burst a blood vessel or tear your skin. If there's little time to heal from the damage, then the damage just gets worse. The impact with the post for Ranma was basically the straw that broke the camel's back. Understand?"

Akane thought it over and it started to make sense. Ranma was assaulted so many times that, even though he was a good healer, he rarely got the chance to relax and thus such a thing like this was bound to happen eventually. It didn't necessarily have to be partial amnesia; it could have been a broken spinal cord or a lost body part or something depending on the situation. The circumstances simply led to this result instead, all because she hit him towards the horizon yet again.

"Thank you for telling us this. Let us know if anything else comes up please." Nodoka replied with a bow after she stood up.

"No problem." Tofu bowed back.

The Tendo's and Saotome's all went back home, but Akane decided to skip dinner as the words of the doctor still rang in her head. Even the presence of P-chan, which she brought up to her room to hug like a teddy bear, didn't lift her spirits. _'To change somewhat and may completely forget some things. For example, things he doesn't really want to remember, people and places that are more associated with misery than anything else, and also it could bring out some hidden desires or real feelings that he had kept inside of him.'_

"In that case, that means that Ranma has been interested in Kasumi for a long time now." Akane sadly thought out loud, then scoffed. "Why not? She cooks well, she's kind and womanly, never once laid a hand on him and always been there for him when he needed her. Compared to me, she's a goddess. No wonder he forgot about me. And no wonder everyone's telling me I don't have a chance at getting him back. I practically placed Ranma on a platter and presented him to Kasumi herself."

This made Akane weep long streams of tears, much like her father's trademark behavior. "I... I must have been losing Ranma slowly, day by day, and Kasumi... was getting more and more of his love each day. He just never showed it to anyone before." She briefly paused as she lied down. "And this isn't like all the other times when a potion or a spell was causing him to act like this. This time it's for real."

Ryoga, as P-chan, listened to all this in shock and confusion. _'What the hell? Is she serious? Ranma's left Akane for Kasumi?'_ He quickly felt angry and happy. Angry at Ranma for hurting Akane like this, and happy that Ranma was no longer a rival for his affections of Akane. And while the lost boy did have some feelings for Akari too, he did also have some lingering ones for Akane still. He tried to get out of Akane's arms to go change and hurt Ranma, but the short-haired girl's grip was uncompromising.

A knock was at her door then, and Akane quickly wiped the tears with her hands and rose back into a sitting position. "Come in." She softly moaned.

"How are you feeling?" Kasumi asked as she brought in a tray with some leftover dinner.

"I'm fine." Akane said, trying not to meet her sister's eyes. Kasumi sat down by the edge of Akane's bed and took her little sister's hand in hers but Akane quickly pulled it away and stood up staring at the window, P-chan still in her arms.

"Is something wrong?" Kasumi asked.

"Nothing's wrong. If you don't call losing your fiancée to your older sister overnight wrong. And seeing your sister enjoying the time they spend together every day." Akane then slowly turned to face her older sister, but didn't make eye contact just yet. "Don't bother denying it to spare my feelings Kasumi, I can see it in you. You're happy with him, and he's happy with you. He never smiled like he does for you when he was with me. He... almost never smiled at all. He treats you like how a true engaged couple should treat each other, with love and care. I've never shown him that. All I've ever shown him was pain and anger." She paused to blow her nose and wipe some tears off. "Did Dad tell you about what Dr. Tofu said?"

Akane now made eye contact, to see Kasumi nod towards her, and then looked downwards again. "Then you should know that the effects are permanent, not like some potion with an antidote or a spell that can be taken off. He's been in love with you for Kami knows how long. When he knocked his head on that damn pole it just pushed those feelings for you onto the surface." Akane began to slump down to her knees and started crying.

"Akane, it's not as bad as you think it is." Kasumi tried to comfort her.

Akane scoffed. "Of couse you'd say that. You're the one who's got his attention."

"Is that what this is all about?" Kasumi asked firmly. "All this time I thought that you were beginning to realize your own feelings for Ranma, but is the only reason you're upset by this simply because he prefers my company now over your own? Are you that petty little sister?"

Akane looked hurt. "How can you say that?"

"Akane, do you love Ranma or not?" Kasumi bluntly asked, ignoring her sister's question. "All I want to hear is 'yes' or 'no'. Nothing more. Do. You. Love. Ranma?"

Akane looked away, more tears threatening to form. "It doesn't matter. He cares about you now."

Kasumi made her sister look back at her. "That wasn't what I asked."

Akane angrily closed her eyes and pushed herself away from Kasumi. "Just go! Leave me alone! Stop rubbing this in my face!"

Kasumi sighed and stood up. "Alright, I will. Goodnight Akane."

"Kasumi?" Akane quietly asked, making the aforementioned Tendo daughter pause for a moment. "Have you and Ranma... kissed yet?"

Kasumi sighed but didn't face her sister. "I'm not going to lie to you Akane. Yes, we have, and I have enjoyed it." She then left the room, leaving Akane to cry in frustration and angst.

"Did she take it well?" A voice waiting outside the door quietly asked.

"No, but give her time, ok dear?"

"Sure, for you anything." The voice added before the source, Ranma, hugged Kasumi, gave her a light kiss on her cheek, and left to go back to his own room. Both of them felt relatively relaxed after their hug.

Conversely, Akane began to get bitter about all she had heard tonight. This whole thing now made her angry, not at herself, but rather towards her sister. She knew it was irrational, but it made her feel better and that's what she really wanted. She cried into her pillow as she had a nightmare of a wedding of a certain couple, while her pet promised himself he'd do something about this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The next weekend Kasumi was out getting the groceries by herself while Ranma was out doing his own little private shopping as well. Reason being that Kasumi's birthday was next week and he wanted to surprise her with something. Akane was rather offended since it wasn't for her but couldn't complain without sounding downright childish. After all, it was Kasumi's birthday and fiancée or not he was entitled to do something for her. Nodoka however was eager to help him, and even Soun made a few suggestions to the pig-tailed young man.

Kasumi didn't try to make her birthday into a big deal. She was a lot more humble than that and she was in her twenties anyway. But she did always look forward to it because it was the one day of the year where she didn't have to be sick for someone to help her out and treat her like family rather than a maid. And this year, she was more anxious than usual because she knew Ranma would put a lot of care and effort into his gift. He did the same with Akane for her birthday and Christmas in the past and she appreciated it both times.

While Kasumi was selecting some vegetables for possible ingredients in some meals, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. When she looked around she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but couldn't shake the feeling. It only got worse when she finished the purchase and went to another store.

Unable to take it anymore, Kasumi decided to simply head home. The feeling didn't leave her, even as the streets got less crowded. She then suddenly turned around, and saw Tofu heading towards her but come to a stop once she noticed him. "Dr. Tofu, is there something I can do for you?" She asked politely, wondering what was going on.

Tofu was steeling every nerve in his body for this, to avoid appearing irrational around her. "Kasumi, are you... r-really going through with this? With being engaged to Ranma?"

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?" She had a good idea why though.

"Because I thought you didn't like younger men like Ranma." Tofu told her.

Kasumi shrugged. "Ranma's age doesn't matter to me anymore. He's the perfect gentleman, something I didn't expect a younger man to be, and that's more important than something like age."

"But is he really your type?" Tofu asked.

Kasumi smiled wistfully. "He's helpful, kind, caring, attentive, and makes me feel like a woman. Of course he is."

"But he's not the only one like that." Tofu blurted out before he caught himself.

Kasumi's smile disappeared. "Are you implying I should be with someone else?"

"N-n-no. But... surely Ranma's not the only man who can treat you like that, if you gave them the chance." The doctor answered. It was already taking all of his strength just to be normal in front of her; trying to say what he really wanted to was much harder than anticipated.

Kasumi sighed and stepped forward. "Dr. Tofu, I think I get what you're saying. But sadly, I must decline. I'm happy with Ranma and I want to see where our relationship takes us. I'm not going to desert him for someone else just because they ask me to. What kind of woman would I be if I did?"

"I'm not asking you to do that. I just..." Tofu said, but found he couldn't finish.

Kasumi took another step forward. "Dr. Tofu, I'm grateful for everything you've done for my family over the years. I've never been anything else and I never intend to be anything else. But if you're trying to say what I think you are, then I'm afraid I must decline. It's nothing personal. I just already have a special someone. I hope you can be happy for me and accept that like a mature man."

Tofu felt his heart crack and split. "I see. Well, I do want you to be happy Kasumi. If Ranma is the one that makes it happen for you, then I wish you the best."

"Thank you Dr. Tofu. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return home." Kasumi said politely.

"Of course. Bye Kasumi." The doctor said before turning to leave for his clinic, hoping she didn't see his tears.

_'I'm just glad that's out of the way. He's a nice guy, but I just can't return the sentiment.'_ Kasumi thought as she walked back home. While she did consider Tofu's antics in her presence amusing to watch, the thought of having a relationship with him somewhat scared her, even before Ranma fell for her. The way the doctor acted showed he had little self-control and would be an embarrassment to be seen in public with if she ever did date him. Plus, since he didn't realize how much harm he caused to others in that state, she feared what would happen if he actually got his hands on her then.

_'I just hope he doesn't take that too harshly.'_ Kasumi added.

* * *

Tofu got back to his clinic and slumped down into a chair, staring into space. He just had his heart broken and he didn't know what to do about it. His first thought was that he should pack up and leave Nerima, unable to bear seeing Kasumi knowing he can never have her. But as soon as he thought that, Kasumi's words replayed in his mind: _'I hope you can be happy for me and accept that like a mature man.'_

Tofu sighed. "If I just up and leave, then I'm only telling her I'm not a mature man and therefore I shouldn't deserve her even if she and Ranma for some reason don't work out." He got up for a drink then. "And relocating my business elsewhere and reestablishing my clientele would be too problematic for leaving to be worth it in the long run. I guess... it's better... to have Kasumi as a friend, then not in my life at all."

Even when he went to bed later that night, he was so sure he had truly convinced himself of that, but he had at least resigned himself to it.

* * *

Ranma had left the shop he went to to get Kasumi's present five minutes ago and was near the bridge across the canal when he heard the ever-familiar phrase "Ranma! Prepare to die!"

"Hey Ryoga. How's it hanging?" Ranma greeted as he stepped away from the lost boy's initial attack while pocketing his gift for Kasumi. "By the way, those surprise attacks of yours would work a lot better if you didn't announce yourself like that."

"Do you have any idea how much you've hurt Akane by ditching her the way you did?" Ryoga demanded to know, looking ready to make another attack any moment.

Ranma tilted his head. "Ditched her? I don't even _know_ her anymore man."

That enlightened Ryoga's aggression a bit. "And just what do you mean by that?"

Ranma sighed in frustration. "Apparently some head injury over a month ago made me completely forget about Akane, and only Akane. Doc said that deep down I didn't wanna remember her so I forgot her when I got hurt pretty bad that time. Or something like that."

Ryoga frowned. "So it wasn't enough that you treated her like you did? You had to have so little respect for her you were willing to erase her from your mind?" He looked ready to fire off a Shishi Hokodan right now, except he was a little too enraged for it to work as intended.

"Don't make it sound like I did it on purpose." Ranma told him. "From what Kasumi's told me it's Akane's fault I forgot her, not mine."

"Liar!" Ryoga shouted as he tried to crush Ranma with a punch to his upper body. The pigtailed young man stepped out of the way and delivered a powerful kick to his rival's gut, making him lose his balance for a moment but otherwise feel fine.

"Don't _ever_ call Kasumi a liar again!" Ranma angrily demanded and then punched Ryoga in the jaw but with little effect. All that training for the Bakusai Tenketsu really made him a hard person to defeat through sheer brute force.

"I didn't. You're the one lying by saying it's Akane's fault." Ryoga argued with another lunge to clobber his opponent.

Ranma jumped above him and kicked him in the back of the head. "Whadja care whose fault it is? Aren't ya with Akari instead of Akane?"

Ryoga paused the fight for a moment to regain his equalibrium and glare at Ranma. "Yeah, but Akane was someone important to me and I still don't want her to be hurt by your uncaring ways."

"I'm not hurting her. I'm just trying to live my life and be a good fiancée to Kasumi but she keeps interfering." Ranma countered.

"And that's exactly how you hurt her. By leaving her for Kasumi."

"What, you think she's jealous or something?" Ranma asked. "Yeah right. If anything she wants me to go away, not get closer to her."

"Then why don't you?" Ryoga asked hostily.

"And why should I leave Kasumi just because some other girl doesn't want my company? Kasumi does and that's all that matters to me."

Ryoga tightened his fists. "So Akane doesn't mean anything to you anymore? You horrible jerk." He then readied for another assault.

_'Well, talking to him is pointless. Might as well just get rid of him.'_ Ranma said as he dodged all of the lost boy's attacks while adding his own in the gaps. Once he had a moment, he jumped away and started to run off.

"You coward! Come back and fight!" Ryoga yelled and started to give chase. A series of twists and turns combined with the use of the Umisen-ken made Ryoga get lost in no time. "Where am I? Where did you go Ranma?" He asked no one in particular before charging down a road in front of him.

Ranma watched from atop a post. "Hopefully I won't see him anytime soon." He then jumped down and walked back home.

* * *

Once she got home, Kasumi saw Cologne perched on the estate's surrounding wall. "Hello Cologne, I take it you were waiting for me or Ranma?" She asked as she came to a stop in front of the entry.

"Indeed I was, primarily you since you should be more reasonable than Son-in-law." Cologne said as she got comfortable. "As you may have guessed, I'm not too pleased with the fact that you and he are getting closer. It quite... _interferes_ with my agenda."

"With all due respect Elder, my own family has it's own 'agenda' as you put it, and that means more to me than your own." Kasumi replied. "Besides, what Ranma and I do is our own choice and not because we feel we have to to please anyone else."

"In any case, I'm going to have to ask you to relenquish your claim on Son-in-law." Cologne stated.

The eldest Tendo daughter made a light frown. "Why should I? Because you say so?"

"Because our laws demand he belong to Shampoo and no other claim has higher priority in our eyes." The ancient Amazon answered.

"In other words, because you say so." Kasumi added. _'Not that she's the only one to have had that outlook on Ranma's situation though.' _

Cologne narrowed her eyes. "If you choose to see it that way, then so be it. Nevertheless, it must be done. The law demands it and is there for a reason."

"Let me remind you, Elder, that you are not in China, but Japan, where Japanese law has priority and your laws don't." Kasumi claimed. "Also that Ranma is Japanese, not Joketsuzoku, therefore it is unreasonable for you to expect him to abide by your laws like you do."

"So you wish to make this difficult for yourself, do you?" Cologne said in a semi-threatening way with a look to match.

"What I wish is for you to realize that your notion behind your claim on Ranma, which may work back in your own home, has no reason here. You claim the law exists for a reason. What is that reason? What possible reason could you have for demanding a girl marry the first man who defeats her? How can you expect a man strong enough to beat an Amazon to suddenly submit to her? And for that matter, why is it okay for your Amazons to declare a battle on someone and not have to tell them the consequences of it until _after_ it's over? How is that honorable or justifiable?"

Cologne didn't respond right away. "You don't need to know. All you need to know is that the law exists and must be followed. Outside that is none of your concern."

Kasumi's frown deepened. "When it involves my fiancée then it is my concern. Rest assured Elder that I am not like Akane and only willing to keep Ranma just to ensure no one else can have him. And if Ranma found out you threatened me, it would only make him tolerate you and your kind even less, if at all."

Cologne already knew that and never did intend to actually hurt the oldest Tendo girl, but she had to do something. And after some time to think about it, the most reasonable thing of all Cologne could do was convince her to surrender her claim on the pigtailed young man, which she suspected wouldn't be that easy. Nabiki would have cooperated even if proven tough to negotiate with, but Kasumi was more understanding than Akane was so she should have been more willing to come to an understanding with them. Apparently she wasn't going to just give up the youngest Saotome like Cologne had half-hoped.

Fortunately Cologne was prepared for the event Kasumi proved to be a tough customer. "While that may be true, you do understand that we Amazons do not take kindly to men that refuse to play nice. If Son-in-law continues this refusal to join with Shampoo in matrimony, then our tribe will make him suffer for it and whoever he does join. So in your best interest, and his, you should do the considerate thing and spare everyone from harm." She hoped this would appeal to Kasumi's motherly side, the part that wished no ill on anyone.

Kasumi smiled, as if completely unintimidated by the amazon matriarch. "Ranma killed Saffron and defeated Herb, both of which I've heard you say several of your warriors couldn't do. So what can you do to Ranma that he couldn't do anything about?"

Cologne remained silent for a moment. "Very well. You've had your chance. Now you will suffer for it." She then hopped away back towards the Nekohanten, plotting something yet again.

"Ranma will protect me from whatever you try..." Kasumi said more to herself than to the departed woman. Then she smirked and quietly added something with a light snicker. "... Old Ghoul."

* * *

Along the way back home Ranma happened to come across Ukyo sweeping the front of her store. "Hi Ucchan."

Ukyo gave him a smile, but it seemed weaker than the ones she usually gave him. "Hi Ranchan. How are you today?"

"I'm okay I guess. Just had a run-in with Ryoga. Guy's an idiot sometimes ain't he?"

Ukyo nodded slowly. "What was he upset about? If you're not with Akane why would he get mad at you this time?"

Ranma shrugged. "Dunno. He said I was hurting Akane by ignoring her and favoring Kasumi. I say what has Akane done ta deserve me acting any other way?"

Ukyo nodded. "I agree. I'm just glad you're not marrying her now. You'd be so much happier with me as your wife."

"Why?" Ranma innocently asked.

"Why?" Ukyo repeated, not understanding what he meant.

"Not that I disagree with ya, but... well, Ucchan, what exactly do you see for us if I did marry you? I don't think you've ever really told me the whole plan."

Ukyo put her broom against the side of the restaurant. "To be frank, I see us both working in a bigger restaurant somewhere a little less chaotic, with a few kids. Hopefully a son and a daughter, so we'd need a bigger place for the room, which this place doesn't have."

"But Ucchan, you're the only one who knows how to make the food or run a restaurant. I'd be just dead weight to you, wouldn't I?" Ranma asked.

"No, you'd be a big help in caring for the kids, and I'm sure you can learn to make okonomiyaki and run the register at least. Also your girl form could waitress and attract more customers, like Konatsu does." Ukyo told him.

Ranma looked uncomfortable. "Wait a minute, your plan for the two of us is for me ta work behind a counter all day taking orders and humiliating myself for the sake of earning some extra cash for you?"

Ukyo looked shocked to hear that. "I didn't mean for it to sound like that Ranchan."

"Then can you say it in a way that sounds less degrading?"

"Well you... umm... you could..." Ukyo struggled to explain her dream to Ranma in a way he'd like to support, but found herself at a loss for words.

"Ucchan, do you know what _my_ dream for the future is?" He asked, and she shook her head. "I'd like to continue being a martial artist. I've been one all my life, I can't stop just became someone else wants me to. I need a wife that understands that. I know I don't wanna keep traveling across Asia looking for more opponents and techniques, so I'd like ta settle down somewhere and maybe teach others what I know at a dojo."

"But you can do that with me." Ukyo told him. "You could get a job at one of the dojos near where we'll live and teach there. It doesn't have to be the Tendo dojo you know."

Ranma nodded. "I know, but what about you and the kids if we did that? If I worked at a dojo how would you handle a bigger restaurant? And who'd watch the kids when they're not in school? Maybe you could keep Konatsu on hand but he can only do so much and that's sort of unfair to him. To be honest, I have a hard time seeing it all work."

"But we can try. Won't you give me a chance?" Ukyo asked on the verge of tears, feeling he was denying her any opportunity for a future together.

Not wanting her to cry, Ranma gently hugged her, which actually made her cry more. "Ucchan, I care about you. Heck, if I had known you were a girl and about the engagement before I got to the Tendo's, I probably would have chosen you right away."

"But.. you're not choosing me, are you?" Ukyo sadly asked.

"I'm sorry. I still think of you as a dear friend, and I'm sorry my idiot father got you into this. But I don't think we'd be happy for long if we did marry and any friendship we had would be destroyed. I don't want that to happen."

After a few more sobs, Ukyo replied. "Neither do I." She then pulled away to look at him. "At least I know Kasumi will treat you better than Akane or Shampoo."

"I hope you find someone who will be what ya wanted me to be for you Ucchan. I'm sorry I can't be that man for you though." Ranma added.

She smiled and wiped a few tears away. "Thanks Ranchan. I may not be happy about this, but... you're still free to come here when you want to. Only now I may have to charge you for what you eat."

"Ah can't ya just hit me instead? Why ya gotta hurt me that way?" He joked, making them both laugh a bit, letting them both know they were still friends.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Kasumi, the laundry is done." Ranma was out back giving Kasumi a helping hand early morning a few days later, which happened to be on her birthday. He saw her look out her window earlier and assumed she was up and already getting breakfast started, but apparently she wasn't or else she would have heard him. "Kasumi?" Eager to find her, he went around the house and then inside the house. He looked in the kitchen, living room, dining room and finally went to her room.

"Kasumi?" Ranma slowly peeped inside and saw a shadow laying down on the bed. "Kasumi, are you alright?" All Ranma could hear were sounds of gentle weeping. He slowly opened the door wider and found Kasumi crying, her face hidden in her pillow. He gently sat by her bed, placed his hands on her shoulder, and sat her up to lay her head on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" Ranma whispered as he wiped away Kasumi's tears from her cheeks with his thumbs while not breaking his stare from her misty gray eyes.

"Nothing. I've just been so happy these past two months that I'm worried one day I'll wake up and see you're longer by my side but back at Akane's letting her hurt you again. I never had a man treat me so nice and show me so much care like you before. I'm afraid that this will all turn out to be a dream and you won't want me anymore and I'll never find another man like you." Kasumi cried into Ranma's chest. "I had a nightmare where that did happen, so I guess I'm just a little emotional at the moment."

"Kasumi, I'm always going to be here for you like you were for me. If you asked me to, I would never leave your side for a minute. I love you and that's why you're the girl I want to marry."

Kasumi's eyes widened considerably and looked up at his own. "What did you just say?"

Ranma smiled and brushed some of her wayward hair back. "I think you heard me right the first time. But if ya really wanna hear it again, I love you and will always be there for me as long as you want me."

Kasumi's heart was on overdrive right now. In all the time she had known Ranma, even before her engagement to him, she knew that for him being open about his emotions was the hardest thing he could ever do. Even when he was being offered something like a cure for his curse he still couldn't just say what he really felt, always finding some way to keep them covered or accidentally send the wrong message. Fighting someone who wanted to maim him was easy compared to saying anything that could be interpreted as romantic. So for him to do what he just did was without a doubt the best gesture of affection Kasumi could ask from him aside from killing another god to save her life.

Overcome with this declaration and her own feelings for the pig-tailed gender-bender, Kasumi reacted in a way that would have surely caught her family off guard. She smiled warmly, and leaned forward to kiss Ranma. He didn't act surprised or bothered like he did all other times someone else had kissed him before; when Kasumi kissed him he happily returned it. Neither used their tongues this time, just enjoyed the contact and the tenderness between them.

When they separated, Kasumi and Ranma just looked at each other with all the love and care for each other evident for all to see. Kasumi nuzzled her head into his neck. "I love you too Ranma. More than I ever expected possible. I would be very happy if you stayed by me forever, so if that was your attempt at a proposal, then I accept."

Ranma wrapped his arms around her. "Glad ta hear it."

"What do you say we let the family start without us, just this once?" Kasumi asked, making herself more comfortable in his embrace.

"Sure. I don't see why not." He replied, and both just sat there holding each other.

* * *

The rest of the household woke up and went downstairs, expecting breakfast to already be set up for them. They were pretty surprised to see the table was bare and the kitchen showed no signs of being used yet. "What's going on? Is Kasumi sick or something?" Nabiki asked, thinking that was the most likely explanation since even on her birthday Kasumi rarely slept in.

"Akane go check her room while I get something started." Nodoka suggested, thus sparing everyone from the horrors of Akane's efforts.

Akane nodded and went upstairs, not expecting anything worse than Kasumi with a cold, as was usually the case when she wasn't the first one up. She saw the door was slightly open but thought nothing of it, or the fact that she hadn't seen Ranma yet. "Kasumi, are you...?" She started to ask as she opened the door all the way, only to have her mind briefly shut down completely at the sight before her.

A normal person might have looked at the sight of Ranma and Kasumi resting blissfully in each other's embrace and find it to be heartstring-tugging and would quietly walk away to avoid disturbing them. It's a shame that Akane saw this rather than a normal person. Once her mind started working again, the following went through it like a rebooted computer:

_'Ranma in bed with Kasumi'...'Boy in bed with my sister'...'Boy is pervert'...'Perverts deserve to be punished'...'Ranma must be punished'_

"RANMA!" Akane screamed bloody murder with an erupting volcano in the background. A mallet instantly appeared ready to do the only thing it was built for as Ranma and Kasumi suddenly woke up from the scream. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU PERVERTED PIECE OF SCUM!"

Before she could administer the punishment Akane felt Ranma more than deserved, Kasumi rose from the bed and stood firmly in front of her younger sister and then slapped her, albeit lightly. "DON'T YOU EVEN TRY TO HURT HIM!" The combined shock of Kasumi's defense, slap, and shout was enough to temper Akane's rage, but it left her greatly confused.

"B-b-but Kasumi-" Akane meekly started to say.

"No, little sis. I will hear none of it." Kasumi interrupted with a scowl, which was much more effective on someone who had never been seen frowning before. "You will never try to hurt Ranma in my presence again."

"But I'm just trying to defend your honor." Akane got in without being cut off.

Kasumi crossed her arms. "Did the little detail that Ranma and I happen to be fully clothed escape you?"

Akane only then looked to see that they were in fact dressed. Kasumi was in her pajamas still, but she was covered up. "But he's not-"

Kasumi leaned forward still scowling, which actually made Akane afraid for a moment. "Listen to me well Akane. I personally do not care anymore what problems you may have with Ranma. It is not your place anymore to care either. He is _my_ fiancée, not yours, therefore if _I_ approve of what goes on between us, it doesn't matter if you don't. Get it? I don't need you to butt into our business, nor do I want you to. So drop it already."

Akane got teary-eyed at hearing Kasumi rub in the fact that she wasn't Ranma's fiancée anymore. She wanted to argue that point, but her resolve had already been quickly crumbling under her sister's harsh stare. In the end, she hung her head and walked away into her room, hoping no one saw her cry.

Ranma stood up and hugged Kasumi from behind. "I'm impressed Kasumi. I didn't think ya had it in you to do that to her."

Kasumi relaxed in his embrace. "I know. I don't like that I had to do it, but I'm not going to let her get away with trying to hurt you anymore." She then lightly sighed with a grin. "After all, hurting you is the wife's job."

"Then I guess I don't have anythin' to worry about." Ranma replied.

* * *

That night was a peaceful night with no intruders and no Happosai causing trouble. Kasumi was spared from having to cook dinner tonight, which was done by Nodoka and Ranma. Akane had insisted on helping out, so they had her work on the salad. Hopefully by some miracle she couldn't make that taste terrible. Ranma and Nodoka had prepared sukiyaki with some sushi and a homemade devil's food cake.

Dinner was relaxing with everyone making small talk and Akane was even casual or at least neutral around Ranma for the sake of avoiding upsetting her sister. Soun cried in joy first about how his oldest was twenty now, and that made him cry because Nabiki was about to graduate high school and Akane would too soon. Nabiki told him in her own way to settle down.

Then came time for the presents, which weren't much but Kasumi wasn't one for extravagance anyway. From Soun she got some of the books he saw her check out at the library more often than others. From Nabiki she got a new dress and a matching apron, both which Kasumi had been hoping for. Akane gave her a new pair of shoes so she could go out walking more if she wanted to. And Nodoka even got her a fancy kimono for special occasions. Genma didn't have a gift, saying he couldn't find anything he felt was appropriate. Akane, Nabiki, and Ranma didn't believe him, but they didn't say anything about it.

Ranma saved his gift for last. He presented everyone with a small ring that had three gems on it. The central one was a diamond with the other two to it's left and right, both those being Kasumi's birthstone. Everyone gasped at seeing this in Ranma's hands, except for Nodoka because she had given it to her son earlier that year when he was still engaged to Akane. But she clearly remembered it had Akane's birthstones instead, meaning he must have had it edited not too long ago.

"Kasumi dear, you know how I feel about you. Would you be happy having me by your side for the rest of your life?" He asked her gentlemanly.

Even though she had pretty much answered this same question earlier that morning, Kasumi was overwhelmed by this show of affection. The fact that Ranma was doing this in front of their families, meaning he could never back out of it, and risking Akane's wrath at the same time, showed her he was dead serious in his choice to have her as his wife. She could think of only one thing to do in response.

Shedding a few tears, Kasumi hugged him. "Yes Ranma, I will. I love you."

"I love you too." He told her as he slipped the ring on her finger, proving he had it adjusted for Kasumi's ring size rather than Akane's.

The witnesses had a variety of reacts. Soun and Genma cheered and raised some sake glasses in a toast to the unity of the schools. Nodoka smiled for her son with a few tears of joy herself and asked when did they want to start planning the wedding. Nabiki smiled and congratulated them both, touched by this more than she wanted to show.

As for Akane, she didn't know what to do. Part of her was jealous that Kasumi, the one girl who never had to compete for Ranma, was the one to win him and she wanted to complain. Part of her was angry Ranma didn't give her another chance after the head injury and she wanted to hit him. But mostly she was saddened by this turn of events and she sort of became catatonic to the world around her for a little bit.

_'Why? Why did it have to come to this? Ranma, do I mean nothing to you now?'_ She thought sadly.

* * *

The next day Ranma and Kasumi decided to finish off the rest of the potential damage to their relationship, together and directly at the source. This of course meant going down to the Nekohanten and dealing with the Amazons. Hopefully the presence of Kasumi would make them less likely to attack in anger, but Ranma would be ready in case that proved untrue.

They arrived just a little before closing time to minimize any extra people around. They entered together hand-in-hand to let the Amazons know they were serious. Shampoo was the first to see them, and while happy to see Ranma, she was crestfallen to see Kasumi in his company and both of them holding onto the other. "Nihao?"

"Hey Shampoo, we're hear to tell you and the old ghoul something." Ranma said gently.

"Is it what Shampoo think it is?" The purple-haired girl sadly asked.

"Most likely." Kasumi answered.

Shampoo started to get some small tears in her eyes and slumped her shoulders. Before she could move to get her great-grandmother, Cologne pogoed into the room on her cane and stood next to her descendant. "Now what's this all about?"

Kasumi spoke first, as they had already decided she had the better tact and people skills to do this with minimal collateral and offense. "Elder Cologne, earlier today Ranma proposed to me and I accepted. I am the one going to be his wife, and we wanted to tell you in person rather than you finding out through a rumor or Nabiki or something of the sort."

"Well that's considerate of you, but nonetheless your claim is futile. Shampoo is the only one entitled to wed Ranma so anything else is meaningless." The Amazon matriarch replied professionally.

"I believe you are forgetting one important thing. Ranma here proposed to _me_, not Shampoo." Kasumi countered.

"And I believe you are forgetting the discussion we had earlier." Cologne added with her eyes a little narrowed for emphasis.

"I didn't forget, although I'm sure you forgot what I said to you during it."

"What you said doesn't matter because the law is final." Cologne declared.

"Law shmaw." Ranma said. "I made up my mind. Kasumi's the girl I love and she's the girl I've chosen. If you don't like it, then go back to China where people actually care about your precious laws."

"Watch your tongue boy." Cologne warned.

"No, I've had enough of you Amazons coming to this country and actin' like ya never left your own. This is Japan, and we obey Japanese laws and customs, not Chinese. You have to adjust to our ways, not the other way around." Ranma almost shouted.

Shampoo looked more hurt, wondering if Ranma had grown to hate her in her time here. "Airen, Shampoo sorry if she upset you. Not want you mad or hurt, just love Shampoo."

"I know that Shampoo, but you took the wrong approach."

"You idiot." Cologne said bitterly. "It does not matter if you approved of our methods. They were necessary, all because you don't know your place."

"My place?" Ranma asked, feeling offended. "Remember you shriveled mummy, I'm the one who defeated both Herb and Saffron. And even you with the Neko-ken. And you expect me to accept your idea that I'm supposed to be Shampoo's trophy husband? As if."

"Then what do you expect to happen?" Cologne asked.

"Tell everyone in your tribe that I'd be willing to fight for you if you ever need me. You have helped me out a bit sometimes since you got here so it's the least I can do. But I'll only fight if I agree with your reason for it. If I don't, then I won't put in the effort ta actually go to China. And if anyone tries to punish Shampoo by turning her into a cat permanently or something because of me then I'll fight against you all personally. Is that clear?"

Shampoo looked at him in wonder. _'He does care?'_

Cologne thought it over. It was far from the perfect solution, but maybe it wasn't a completely unacceptable compromise. "You do realize in the event I actually agree to your idea that the council will not like this and my granddaughter will still have to be punished somewhat for failure in her duty."

Instead of answering the old woman, Ranma looked at Shampoo. "Shampoo, I'm sorry, but I don't think we can work as a couple. I don't even know you and you want me to give up everything I know just to go to your home and stay with you? That can't work."

To Cologne's surprise, Shampoo just slowly nodded. "I know, Ranma. Nice Girl tell me that some time ago. Shampoo realize she not know you well either. Maybe it really best if we not wed. Can we stay friends still?"

"Shampoo? Are you actually admitting defeat here?" Cologne asked in bewildered amazement.

Shampoo gave her great-grandmother a sad look. "Grandma, maybe this is best. Better Ranma friend than enemy."

"You do realize this won't be liked back home." Cologne said. It wasn't a question.

"And you do realize what will happen if you refuse to respect Ranma's decision." Kasumi added, also not asking a question.

Of the two Amazon women present, Cologne looked the most willing to continue the fight. Shampoo looked like she had already resigned herself to her lot in Ranma's heart, even if she didn't like it. So before Cologne could say anything, Shampoo chose to. "Shampoo surrender. Not want Ranma hate me, so I accept offer."

"Thanks Shampoo." Kasumi said with a warm smile.

Cologne looked quite bothered. "Fine then. If my grandchild no longers sees you fit for her, then I'll cease this endeavor as well."

Ranma nodded. "Thanks guys. And as weird as it sounds, I'm actually going to miss ya both in a way."

"And if you want to come to the wedding before you go back to China, you're welcome to. Just leave the weapons and explosives behind this time." Kasumi added.

Shampoo nodded. "Thanks. Shampoo like that."

A little later Ranma and Kasumi left to go back home, both feeling much better about the road ahead of them.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Months flew by for Kasumi and Ranma now that they were officially engaged, and during that time they were practically inseparable. The more time they spent together the more closer they got and the more sure they were that this was the right choice. During this time the rest of Nerima learned to accept it and be happy for them both, even Ukyo and Shampoo. The okonomiyaki chef decided that her friendship with Ranma was too important to throw away over this and the Chinese girl chose to wait to return home until after the wedding, mostly to support Ranma. As for the Kuno's, they were mostly left out of the loop because no one wanted their take on anything. Ryoga was similar, but only because he had yet to make a reappearance in Nerima.

At the same time, Ranma and Akane were getting further and further apart. All they had now going for them were the slight exchange of 'Good Mornings' and 'Good Nights', which gradually became more forced than out of politeness. Akane just couldn't accept the lost of Ranma very well, and even though that was obvious to the others, by now they had stopped caring about it. She would sometimes wish that something bad would happen to her elder sister, but she thought better of it later and mentally hit herself for thinking of it.

When it was a week before the wedding, plans were put into action and preparations were put together with the help of Nodoka and even Nabiki. Akane really didn't want to take notice of the happenings going around her and hid in her room for most of the time. She had been asked only once to lend a hand, for her sister's sake if nothing else, but she refused and no one asked her a second time.

One night, Akane gathered what strength she had left and knocked on her oldest sister's door. Nabiki was the one to answer. "Oh, can I help you Akane?"

"Could I ask Kasumi something?" She said.

Nabiki opened the door all the way, and Akane could see Kasumi trying on her mother's wedding kimono, looking rather lovely. She cursed the fact that she wasn't the one going to be in it, but didn't say anything. Kasumi was facing a mirror, so she turned around once she saw her sister's reflection. "Yes sis?"

"I guess you really are going through with this, aren't you?" Akane sadly said.

Nabiki mock-laughed. "Did you think we'd do all this for nothing?"

Kasumi gave Nabiki a brief look, then addressed Akane. "Yes sis, I am. I love Ranma very much and I want to be his wife. I am sorry things didn't work out for you, but you had your chance and you never appreciated it. So I'm not sorry if you're hurt by all this."

Akane looked ready to cry. "That's cruel Kasumi. He leaves me for you, and all you can say is it's my own fault?"

Nabiki stepped up to her younger sister. "It is. Get that through your head Akane. You're not perfect and you can make bad choices. Geez I figured by now even you would realize that." She then took a step back. "Remember, you're the one who made Ranma hit his head on the pole. So him forgetting you is on you, not him. There were several other ways you could have handled that one moment, many of them without resorting to violence in blind anger. But you made your choice then and you have to live with it. You better accept it soon, or things might turn out ugly for you."

Akane shed a few tears and turned to Kasumi, hoping for some comfort. Instead, Kasumi's expression was unchanged. "She's right Akane. Maybe now you'll learn that there are consequences to being violent and that you have to deal with them too. A punch doesn't solve everything. Maybe you and Ranma just weren't meant to be, but in any case, your behavior towards him didn't help at all."

"But... but..." Akane sputtered, not entirely sure just what exactly she was trying to say. Most likely a denial or something.

Kasumi then leaned in a little closer to Akane. "Akane, I'm only going to ask you this once. What are your feelings towards Ranma?"

Akane was caught off guard. _'Why is she asking me that now?'_ After clearing her throat, she managed to speak clearly, albeit with a contained sob. "I... I... I don't know okay? I've never known. At times I can't stand him and other times I appreciate what he does... did for me. But I want..." She paused to wipe away a few tears. "I want him back. That much I do know."

Kasumi and Nabiki shared a look, as if communicating silently. Then they both faced their sister again, and Nabiki spoke first. "Akane, what I'm hearing from you just now is that you took Ranma for granted. You liked it when he made you a big deal, but didn't like him at other times. And most importantly of all, you say you want him back and yet you _still _can't even say you love him."

"Akane, I've changed my mind about what I said earlier to you." Kasumi added. "I'm _not_ sorry things didn't work out between you and Ranma anymore."

Akane was stunned. "How can you say that?"

"Why should I be sorry for you when you apparently didn't love him in the first place? He's the one I should feel sorry for if anyone deserves it." It looked like Akane was going to interject, so Kasumi held up her hand to silence her. "Just accept it Akane. I have more important things to do then sit here and try to explain something to you that you clearly have not grasped yet. And by the way, even if you had said you loved him, it wouldn't have stopped me from agreeing to be his wife. I still intend to be Kasumi Saotome tomorrow, whether you like it or not. All I ask is that you be happy for me."

Akane rushed out of the room in tears and collapsed onto her bed. That night she had another nightmare that night, which were also getting much worst. Now it had degenerated into a full blown 'don't-want-to-go-to-sleep' type of nightmare. She would dream of a wedding party being held and Akane trying to stop it. "NO! Don't do it! I LOVE YOU!" She would scream but the couple didn't listen and afterwards she would be laughed at by the couple and guests taunting her with shouts of 'Tomboy' 'Never going to get hitched' and all sorts of abuses, with Ranma's voice doing the most taunts and Kasumi's voice doing the most laughing.

* * *

The happy day finally came for the couple, and as the delicate ceremony proceeded, only one member of the Tendo family was missing from the joyous event. Unsurprisingly it was Akane. Kasumi worried briefly about her sister's absence, but in the end figured it was just too painful for her to attend. Also she had little time to think about anything other than her own role in the upcoming event.

It was a simple Western style wedding for the sake of cost, but the attire for those involved was Eastern. This did not necessarily apply to the guests though, who arrived in a variety of clothes. The guests included Ukyo, Konatsu, the Amazons, several of Ranma's classmates, some old friends of Kasumi's, Happosai, and even Tofu, who came mostly as a way to convince himself this was real. Somehow Ms. Hinako managed to come along and even behave when in child form, although she kept trying to look like an adult around Soun by taking ki from the guests. The Kuno's were deliberately left out and Ryoga was unaware of the whole situation.

After all the procedures and customs had been done by the book, including the vows and the long speech from the priest, Ranma and Kasumi were officially married. Everyone cheered for them and wished them well for the future while throwing some confetti. The fathers of the couple seemed to be the ones cheering the loudest and probably the most shamelessly. As the happy couple were about to walk out of the makeshift wedding hall to proceed to the dojo for the reception dinner a rather staggered figure appeared before them at the entryway.

"You... Fiancée stealer... You had your eyes on him from the start didn't you? You cheap, good for nothing hussy of a sister!" A very enraged Akane hissed as she pointed a rather long katana at the newlyweds.

"Akane?" Both Ranma and Kasumi practically shouted in disbelief. Not because she was there, but because at the moment she looked more like a maniac from a gore movie than the person they were familiar with. Her hair was disheveled as if she just woke up and she was almost foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. At a closer look one could swear her eyes were on fire.

"If I can't have him, no one can!" Akane charged towards the couple.

Ranma easily picked up Kasumi in his arms and jumped to safety. "Kasumi dear you stay here, ok?" Ranma said as he gently placed his new wife on the roof of the house and proceeded down to confront his new sister-in-law. Some of the guests, led by Tofu, left the room to get to other parts of the house, including Ukyo and the Amazons because they left their weapons home this time, while some just vacated the property instead. But they stood outside in case they needed to provide back-up. "Akane, listen to me. Calm down. This isn't like you." Ranma tried to comfort the now deranged-looking Akane into giving up peacefully.

"Never! You pervert, you probably seduced my poor sister and drugged her so you could get her pregnant then get her to marry you." She swung the large sword around his face. He moved away just barely from its reach in time. "DIE PERVERT!" Akane shouted as she took another charge at Ranma. To get away Ranma had little choice but to get outside where he'd have more room. She got close and missed him again, but this time the sword's tip caught his kimono and took the upper half of it off. Ranma saw his chest was covered with only his inner white kimono, which was flapping in the slight breeze. A thin stream of blood started to form from the slight cut in his chest. This made Kasumi flinch as she saw the small red line form on the outline of his white shirt.

Ranma saw the wound and knew she was deadly serious, emphasis on the 'deadly' part. With a small sigh, he turned to look at Soun. "Father-in-law, I'm sorry for what I'm abouta do to your daughter, but I must protect my wife."

Soun was unsure what to say, but it didn't last long. Ranma needed to protect his bride from any threat, even if they were related. He nodded his approval to use any means to diffuse the situation. He didn't like doing that to his youngest, but knew any other means would place Kasumi in danger too. Also he could tell that Ranma wasn't asking for permission, rather approval.

"Oh so now even my own father is in league with the pervert huh?" Akane glared as she looked around her at everyone who was family or friend to her, all of them surrounding her to try and keep her contained. Her state of mind convinced her that all the people there around her were laughing and mocking her like schoolyard bullies.

Nodoka then stepped up next to Ranma, her katana in her hands. "Son, I know you can handle this, but with her as she is I can't say for certain you'll be safe and I must protect my son, just like you must protect Kasumi."

"Be careful then Mom." He said, not wanting to convince his mother to stay out of this.

"You think you can stand up to me? You're nothing but a lousy pervert's mother! You're no better than he is!" Akane lunged forward screaming.

Nodoka effectively blocked the strike. "And to think I once wanted you as my daughter-in-law. I must have been out of my mind, like you are now."

"SHUT UP! NO ONE EVER DISRESPECTS ME!" Akane roared and swung again. Nodoka blocked all of her attacks.

"Great-grandmother, should we do something?" Shampoo asked.

"I'm not sure what we can do Shampoo. We have no weapons, and even though we can use shiatsu, I'm not sure either of us can get close enough to her."

"Allow me." Mousse said while he pulled out some chains, much to the other Amazons surprise. "Hey, my weapons are my body and last time I didn't come to the wedding wanting to destroy it."

"Just do it Mr. Part-time." Cologne ordered.

Mousse threw his chains in an attempt to restrain Akane, but since his glasses came off he ended up entrapping Nodoka instead. "Aha! Got her."

Cologne hit him on top of his head. "You vain idiot!"

Akane smirked at seeing Ranma's mother tied up. "Not so tough now are you?" She then rushed forward and made contact with Nodoka's left leg, piercing her thigh.

"MOM!" Ranma shouted and without thinking punched Akane to get her away from his mother. This dislodged the sword from her leg but Aakne still kept a hold of it. He pulled the chains away as best he could, which was easier after Mousse put his glasses back on and helped. "Are ya okay?"

"I'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound." Nodoka said with a few tears.

Genma came towards her. "Here, I'll get you out of here so you can get that treated." He picked her up and took her inside.

Ranma looked at Akane with the meanest look he had ever given her. "You _will_ regret that."

Akane glared back, but saw Ranma was being backed up by the Amazons and Ukyo, all looking ready for a fistfight if needed. For the first time today Akane felt a little intimidated, even though she didn't show it, and looked for the person there she had the best chance against. She finally focused on someone who wasn't glaring at her, which was Kasumi. "If I can't kill him, I'll just kill her!" She jumped onto the balcony and then the roof and stood in front of her sister. "NOW BITCH DIE!"Akane raised the sword over her head and started to bring it down in a guillotine fashion and purpose.

Then someone screamed.

* * *

"Doctor how is she doing?" A pair of concerned voices asked.

"Sadly there has been no improvement. But at least she hasn't gotten any worse, meaning she's stabile and that can lead to an eventual recovery. But no promises." A doctor in a standard white coat told them, referencing some notes on a clipboard in his hand.

A couple in each others embrace looked through a small window to peek into a small padded room. There, seated in the corner on top a bed connected to the wall, was a lone figure of a woman with messy blue-tinted black hair and eyes that used to be filled with joy, but were now only filled with despair and hate. She wasn't looking at anything except the wall, unaware she had visitors and giving no clues as to what was on her mind just then.

"Doctor if her condition ever improves, do tell us okay?"

"Yes Mr. and Mrs. Saotome, I will do that." The doctor told them.

As the couple started to walk out of the hospital they started to talk about the past. "I was so scared when I saw the shimmer of steel as it came closer and closer. I thought I was really going to die."

"Well, if I didn't know better, I'd think you _wanted_ me to save you at the very last minute. But I was lucky I was quick enough to catch it with my hands." A male voice added, looking at the thin scar on the palm of his left hand.

"Well that's my little secret." Kasumi said with a slight teasing tone.

"I will get that out of you someday when I have the chance." Ranma replied. "We better get back to the car and get back home. The twins might get physical with their grandparents again."

"Well they get that from you dear." Kasumi playfully poked her husband of six wonderful years on his forehead.

"But they got their beauty and their kind heart from you." Ranma stated after he gently kissed his loving wife.

"Besides, your mother likes their energy. It's your father that doesn't."

"Well what kid can resist playing with a panda? He's like a giant teddy bear to them."

"But still, they shouldn't be alone with him should they?" Kasumi asked as she opened the car door.

Ranma quickly nodded as he opended his own door. "Agreed. They don't leave the property with him unless one of us is with them. No way he's doing to our kids what he did to me. Selling them for food and stuff like that."

"And no seppuku contracts either. I'm having Nabiki get a court order saying Genma can't make any binding promises involving our children, present or future."

"Good idea."

They got into their small car and slowly sped away to their home, the Grand Saotome Dojo which was the headquarters for all Saotome Dojo's located around Japan and a few other countries too, including America. This made them much more financially secure than their old lifestyle, and thanks to help from Nabiki in managing it, they didn't have to worry about going broke anytime soon, if ever.

When they got home, they were greeted first by a young girl, who looked like a miniature Kasumi but she had Ranma's eyes and hair color. Black, not red, as neither of their kids had apparently been influenced by Ranma's curse. "Hi Mama, Papa. Lookit what I found at the park." She held up some flowers for her parents to see. She didn't know what kind they were, only that they were pretty and smelled good.

Kasumi smiled and accepted then, quickly noticing that they were lillies. "Thank you sweetheart. Where's your brother?"

"He's with Gramma cause he spilled his ice cream on his shirt."

"Again?" Ranma asked with an annoyed moan, making Kasumi smile more.

She leaned towards him and kissed him on his cheek. At his confused look, she spoke. "I'm just happy. Nothing more." He then kissed her, showing he was happy too and making her feel better as well. It was a feeling neither one of them would ever forget.

The End


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